Serendipity
by Serendipity Cullen
Summary: Jackson Avery crosses the country to get away from his namesake and signs on for an internship at Mercy West in Seattle Washington. While there, he meets up with April Kepner. A newfound friendship turns into much more. Welcome to their whole story! Serendipity-a fortunate accident
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Jackson Avery took a breath as he climbed from his truck, his eyes roaming the building of the Mercy West hospital. He'd be spending the next ten years at this hospital. It was hard to believe he was finished with med school and was already moving forward into his internship. Of course, if it had been left up to his grandfather, he'd be in Massachusetts right now. What better way to run from the Avery namesake than to cross the country. Maybe he'd at least have a chance here.

Jackson adjusted the bag on his shoulder and started towards the hospital with forced confidence. He was Jackson Avery. _Avery_. He could do this. His steps slowed as he approached the hospital and noticed a young woman with brown hair pulled back in a pony tail standing there staring at the hospital. He looked around, seeing that no one else was taking notice of her. "Hey...are you okay, miss?"

The woman jarred as if he had pulled her away from something. "Yeah...I'm just...this is it, you know?" she asked, turning to look at him.

Jackson raised his eyebrows. "Are you sick? Do you need to see a doctor?" Did she have cancer or something?

The woman laughed, shaking her head. "No...I'm actually...well, I guess I'm a doctor here. I mean, I'm not a doctor really, I'm just an intern, but...today's my first day." She bit her lip nervously.

"Hey, me too," Jackson replied and smiled. "What are you going into?"

"Surgery," the woman replied with a grateful smile and extended her hand. "I'm April."

"Jackson," he replied, taking her hand and shaking it once. "Where are you from?"

"Ohio," April replied, looking back to the hospital. "This was the closest hospital that offered me an internship without being _too_ close, you know?"

Jackson smiled. "I get that."

"Where are you from?" April asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm from the east coast," Jackson replied casually.

"You didn't want to go somewhere closer to home?" April questioned.

"Nah," Jackson shrugged. "Family issues," he tacked on when she looked at him expectantly.

"I totally get that," April sighed. "I've got three other sisters...you try sharing a bathroom with three other girls."

Jackson laughed to himself. There was something about this April girl that he liked. "Hey, we need to get inside," he informed her, glancing to his watch. "We're going to be late." He grasped her wrist and hurried towards the entrance.

Fifteen minutes later Jackson and April were in the locker room of Mercy West, stuffing their belongings into an assigned locker and pinning their name tags to their white lab coats. Jackson hung a stethoscope around his neck while April checked her penlight and made sure her pocket was full of pens. "Hey, who's your resident?" Jackson asked, coming up to her.

April shut her locker and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Arnolds," she answered. "You?"

"I've got Arnolds too," Jackson answered with a slight smile. At least he'd have one friend in the bunch.

"You've got Arnolds?" a girl with short brown hair spoke up. She kinda reminded Jackson of a pixie. "Me too."

"Hey, I'm Jackson," he nodded, extending his hand.

"I'm Reed," she replied, shaking his hand, then introducing herself to April.

"I heard Arnolds is a dud," another voice spoke up as a tall man with brown hair joined them.

Jackson's eyes roamed his nametag quickly. His name was Charles. "What do you mean a dud?" he asked.

"I've heard Arnolds is a repeater," Charles informed them. "This chump had to take his boards _twice_."

"Great," Jackson muttered.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that," April frowned. "Maybe he got nervous or something."

"Or maybe he's an idiot," Charles smirked as they left the locker room.

"I don't think I like him," April whispered as she leaned against Jackson.

Jackson chuckled. "Just hang with me then."

April gave him a sideways glance and smiled as they approached the nurse's station. "Which one is Arnolds?" she whispered.

"I'm Arnolds," a man spoke up dryly, glancing at a clipboard, then tossing it to a nurse. He turned to them, his eyes roaming them. "This is the best they could give me?"

"Better than what I've heard you're capable of," Charles murmured, causing Reed to snort.

Arnolds zoned in on Charlies, his dark eyes flicking over the man's nametag. "Charles, you're doing rectal exams today." He smiled with satisfaction when the man's face paled. "Jackson and April, you're in the pit on sutures. Don't even _think_ about approaching a patient that doesn't need sutures, you got it? Reed, you're with me."

"Later," Reed smirked, trotting along behind him.

"He means...only female rectals, right?" Charles asked quietly.

"Hmmm," Jackson mused. "I don't think so." He chuckled as Charles hung his head and left them. "Looks like it's just you and me."

"I'm glad," April sighed. "I'm not really good with sutures."

"How can you not be good with sutures?" Jackson tisked.

April held out her hands, watching as they trembled slightly.

"Yeah, that's not good," Jackson deadpanned. "Come on, practice makes perfect."

April tried not to form an attachment to Jackson, but she was already thankful he was there. She felt calmer around him. Plus, it seemed he knew his way around a hospital. And he wasn't bad to look at either.

"Hey, we're Arnolds interns," Jackson spoke to an ER nurse named Cynthia. "He put us on sutures."

"Congratulations," Cynthia replied dryly. "I'll let you know when some come in." She went back to working on the computer.

Jackson leaned against the nurse's stations. "What kind of emergencies do you think are in there?" he asked, nodding towards the curtains that surrounded the exam areas.

April cast a glance over to them. "Probably car accidents," she shrugged.

"That's boring."

April looked to him, eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah? What kind of emergencies do _you_ think there are?"

Jackson pursed his lip, thinking for a moment. A wicked smile crossed his face. "A woman caught her man cheating...so she went all Lorena Bobbitt on him."

April squealed, covering her mouth with her hand. "That's _horrible_!" she exclaimed, swatting his arm.

Jackson laughed. "You got something better?"

April looked to the third exam curtain and chewed her lip. "A twenty something drunk plays chicken with a train...and the train wins."

Jackson howled. "That's a good one," he chuckled, knudging her in the ribs. His laughter stopped short and his eyes widened.

April followed his gaze, her mouth dropping as the paramedics wheeled the stretcher in. The stretcher held a man with a knife lodged into his arm. He was screaming at another man who was running behind him. It seemed like some kind of stunt had gone wrong. "Oh my gosh," April murmured.

"I want in on that," Jackson whispered, starting towards them.

"No you don't," Cynthia snapped. "We'll call you in if they need sutures."

"Man!" Jackson exclaimed, hitting the desk as she snatched the curtain around the stretcher. "That's crazy!" He looked to the curtain longingly and then looked back to his new friend. "So what's Ohio like?" Anything to get his mind off the awesome injury behind that curtain.

"Boring," April replied. "My parents worked on a farm...my sisters and I helped out."

"That sounds like a drag," Jackson replied.

April shrugged. "You get used to it."

Jackson looked to her for a moment. There was something about this girl he liked. "How does your boyfriend feel about you being so far away?"

April hesitated for moment, then spoke up brightly. "No boyfriend, so...that's not a problem."

"Really?" Jackson asked with raised eyebrows. "That's a surprise."

April bit her lip. "Yeah, well...I'm looking for a serious relationship, and not many guys are into that, so..." She chewed her lip as a silence settled in. "What about your girlfriend? How's she handling the thousands of miles apart?"

Jackson chuckled. "Not a problem for me either."

"Oh," April blushed. "I just assumed..." Her eyes settled on his, and it flustered her, so she looked away.

"Hey!" Cynthia barked. "You two! Go check on that woman who just came in!"

"Alright, about time!" Jackson exclaimed, headed down the room towards the last curtain.

April hurried behind him, glad for the distraction. She wasn't ready to tell Jackson about her religion just yet. He'd probably dub her as crazy and run away like all the others. "Hello," she spoke to the young blonde woman as she pulled the curtain around her. "My name's April, and this is Jackson." She pointed to Jackson who was looking over the woman's clipboard. "We're going to take care of you." She reached for the blood pressure cuff, wrapping it around the woman's arm. "Want to tell us what happened?"

"Yeah, I got in a fight, and the bitch hit me with a beer bottle," the girl snarled.

Jackson bit his lip, holding back a laugh. "Miss...Perkins," he read off her chart, "do you mind if I measure your wound?"

"Naw, go ahead. And call me Amber," the woman replied. "Ow, that really hurts," she snapped, glaring at April.

"Sorry," April replied sheepishly. "Your blood pressure is elevated...do you have a history of hypertension?" she asked as she scribbled the numbers onto the woman's sheet.

"No," Amber snapped. "I was hit with a freaking glass bottle. Of course my blood pressure is up!"

"You're lucky she didn't clock you on the head," Jackson mused. "She's got a six centimeter cut," he reported, setting the paper ruler aside. "You're going to need sutures, Miss...Amber."

"I move fast," Amber replied then gave him a sassy smile. "As long as you're the one in charge, you can do whatever you like."

Jackson turned away, rolling his eyes. He was _so_ tired of being noticed only for his looks. "April?" he asked. "I'll be right back with a suture kit."

April nodded, then looked to Amber. "Are you in any pain?"

"What do you think?"

April bit her lip, flustered. "I'll see if we can get you something to send home with you."

"No thanks," Amber replied quietly.

"Are you sure?" April asked. "It will help with the pain..."

"I'm a recovering addict," Amber snapped.

"Oh," April replied quietly. "I-I'm really sorry..."

"It's alright," Amber replied. "You didn't know."

A silence settled between the two women as they waited for Jackson to return.

"Hey, what's that?!" Amber asked, scrambling off the table as her eyes landed on the kit in one hand and a needle in the other.

"It's just a local anesthetic," Jackson assured her. "It's just going to deaden the area so it doesn't hurt when we stitch you up."

Amber looked at him unsurely. "I don't need that."

April stepped in front of Jackson, easing on her tiptoes. "She's a recovering addict," she whispered in his ear. "She's afraid that will get her addicted again."

Jackson looked down to April, then over to Amber. "This isn't that kind of drug, Amber, I swear."

Amber raised an eyebrow. "You ain't lying to me, are you, pretty boy?"

"Not at all."

Amber slowly returned to the table and took a deep breath.

April sat beside her. "So, are you from Seattle?" she asked as Jackson administered the drug into the young woman's arm.

Amber raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to do that-this ain't some slumber party."

Jackson smirked. "Yeah, come watch a master at work instead."

April rolled her eyes and joined Jackson's side, leaning in as she watched him stitch Amber's wound. "Wow, you're really good."

Jackson smiled. "I'm thinking of entering plastics...if I survive internship."

"Oh, you'll survive," April replied immediately.

"You think so?" Jackson asked, stopping and looking to her.

April looked from the woman's arm to his eyes. "Yeah...I do," she answered honestly.

Jackson smiled fractionally, then returned to his work. "Hey, you wanna try?" he offered half-way through the wound.

April bit her lip. "I'm not sure..."

"Practice makes perfect," he reminded her, offering her the equipment. "There's an extra pair of sterile gloves over there."

April donned the gloves quickly, then took the forceps from him. She took a breath and started to stitch, though not near as tight as Jackson. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as Amber winced.

"You trying to kill me?" Amber growled, gritting her teeth.

"Relax," Jackson whispered in her ear, moving closer behind her. April gasped as his arms came around her and his hands landed on her wrists. "Don't wobble," he whispered in her ear. "Hold your wrists steady."

April closed her eyes for a moment, then let out a breath and tried her stitches again. It moved more fluidly with Jackson's help. "I did it!" she exclaimed after applying a bandage to Amber's arm.

"Good work," Jackson beamed.

April removed her gloves and threw her arms around him happily. "Thank you!" She turned back to Amber. "Let me grab you some discharge instructions, and you're free to go."

Jackson smiled as he watched April bounce towards the nurse's station. He had a feeling moving to Seattle was the best thing for him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all for the encouraging reviews! And major kudos for picking up on April's confidence in this fic! I think April is a good, compassionate surgeon and should be more confident. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

Chapter Two

"It was _crazy_," Reed exclaimed as she stabbed at her lettuce. "The guy's friend just...yanked the knife out of his arm, and blood went everywhere!"

"Oh my gosh!" April exclaimed. "How was the patient? Was he okay?"

Reed shrugged. "Arnolds got in there and rushed him to the OR."

"So what'd you do?" Jackson asked smugly as he took a bite of his sandwich. He had seen plenty of people like Reed-they talked a lot crap when in reality they didn't do much.

Reed coughed and looked down as she moved a few tomatoes around in her bowl. "He, uh, let me watch in the gallery."

A slow smile crossed Jackson's face. "So, you didn't really do anything? Ouch," he frowned as April kicked him under the table.

April widened her eyes and shook her head. "Hey, getting to see something like that had to have been awesome."

"Not as awesome as doing sutures," Jackson teased.

"Anyone can do sutures," Reed snapped, throwing a crouton at him.

"You can't," Jackson retorted, blowing a straw wrapper at her in return. "Hey, man, how's it going?" he asked as Charles dropped down at their table with only a bottle of water. "You're not hungry?"

"You really need to keep your energy up," April advised, sliding him her apple.

Charles shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "I can't...cause I know where that's going to end up going." The interns cracked up as Charles opened his water bottle and took a drink. "Tell me what it's like to do something other than rectals. Please."

"April got to stitch up a woman's arm today," Jackson spoke up. "This chick got in some fight, and April stitched her up like a pro." He cast a sideways glance to Reed. "Reed got to see a surgery." He ducked as she threw a piece of lettuce his way.

"Jackson helped me," April added. She felt inadequate with him giving her so much recognition.

"Figures," Charles murmured.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" April snipped, taking a sip of her diet coke.

Charles recapped his water bottle and looked at her. "Nothing personal, you seem real sweet and all, but...I don't think you're going to make it."

April's mouth dropped as Reed frowned. "Don't be like that," Reed snapped. "We're in this together...we need to support each other." She leaned across the table and patted April's arm. "You're going to be fine."

"Every group has a weakest link," Charles stated. "I'm just saying."

"Don't be an _ass_," Jackson replied. "Pun intended." He grinned and retrieved the other half of his sandwich as Reed and April giggled.

"Very funny," Charles replied dryly, glancing to his watch. "See you guys later."

April watched him leave, then looked to her watch as well. "Jackson, we'd better get back."

Jackson scarfed down the rest of his sandwich and took a drink of his water. "Catch ya later, Reed."

Reed waved them goodbye before disposing of her lunch tray and hurrying to find Arnolds.

"You alright?" Jackson asked as he and April walked the halls of the hospital.

"Yeah, I'm fine," April replied a bit too quickly.

Jackson frowned. "Don't let what Charles said get to you. He's just jealous that you did something while he's swimming in shit."

April swatted his arm. "You're so bad, Jackson."

Jackson chuckled to himself as they approached the nurses's station once again. "This place is dead."

"Don't say that," Cynthia snapped.

"Wha-" Jackson started.

"Just don't!" Cynthia interrupted.

"What's wrong with her?" April frowned as Cynthia went into the medicine room.

"It's just a superstition," Amy, a RN, spoke up as she joined them at the counter. "Whenever someone says it's quiet in the ER...all hell breaks loose. Be on your toes." She reached over the desk the retrieved two pagers. "Here, take these. We'll page you if we need you."

Jackson clipped the pager to his waistband and looked to April. "Wanna check the place out?"

"Yes," April answered quickly. "I got really lost on orientation." She hesitated, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Or...we could start studying for the intern exam."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? That's like, a year away."

"You can never be too prepared!" April reasoned. "I mean, really, so much is going to be going on in the next few months...we're going to be learning things, giving medicines, and try not to kill anyone in the process! I just think that if we start studying now, we'll be ahead of the game. I have flashcards."

Jackson's eyes widened. _Good Lord, she's got flashcards._ "I'll rock, paper, scissors you for it."

"What?" April asking, looking at him blankly.

"Rock, paper, scissors," Jackson smirked. "If you win, we'll study. If I win, we'll check this place out. Hell, we might find a cool surgery to spy on."

April bit her lip. "Okay, you're on! One, two, three, shoot." They both picked scissors. "One, two, three, shoot."

"Haha!" Jackson exclaimed, covering her hand. "Paper covers rock. I win!" He took her arm as he lead her from the ER. "I'm starting to think Charles was right," he mused as they walked.

"You think I'm the weakest link?!" April exclaimed.

"No, of course not," he laughed. "I mean about Arnolds being a dud. He's not very concerned about us."

"Maybe he's just got a lot of him plate," April shrugged. "I wouldn't want to be responsible for four other people. What?" she asked as Jackson stopped walking and looked at her.

"Do you always do that?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Look on the bright side...defend people, even if you don't know them?" It was certainly different from where he came from. People in his life were usually quick to cast judgement, assign blame, and tell you where you failed. Especially if you were an Avery.

April shrugged and continued walking. "I guess I do. I mean, everyone has a lot going on below the surface, you know? We don't know what someone's gotta deal with until we walk in their shoes."

Jackson mulled over the thought for a moment. "Charles is right," he teased. "You're too nice to be a surgeon."

* * *

Thirty-six hours later four tired interns staggered across the parking lot to their cars.

"I am _so_ glad that shift is over," Charles groaned as reached his jeep. "See you tomorrow."

"I'm sore all over," April whined as she stretched upwards, then rotated her shoulders. She looked to Jackson as he went towards a black truck. "Hey, Jackson?" she called shyly.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning and looking back at her.

April suddenly felt self-conscious. "I was, ummm, thinking, that...you know, in case you get bored or something...I mean...we could exchange...ummmm..." She felt herself blush as Jackson crossed his arms and leaned back against his truck, clearly amused by her fumbling. "Never mind," she finally squeaked.

Jackson shook his head as he watched her turn to go to her car. "Hey, April?" he called. "Give me your phone." He held his hand out, seeing the relief wash over her features. He programmed his number into her phone and handed it back to her. "Call me later, okay?" He winked and climbed into his truck.

"He wouldn't even take your number?" Reed frowned, joining April's side. "That's not good."

"What are you talking about?" April asked, looking over to her.

"If a guy's into you, he takes your number," Reed replied expertly.

April shook her head. "It's not like that...he's my...friend..." She guessed she could call Jackson her friend. They seemed to have a good bond already. A friendly bond.

Reed raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? You're not interested at all? He's freaking gorgeous!"

April blushed and bit her lip. "No, I'm focusing on my career. I don't have time to be interested in anyone."

Reed slowly nodded. "I get that." She reached in her bag and dug out her car keys. "Hey, you wanna go get a drink or something?"

April hesitated for a moment. Drinking wasn't really good...I mean, what would her preacher think if he caught her drinking. She bit her lip. Well, the Bible did say everything in moderation, right? And drinking wasn't necessarily a sin-getting drunk was. And she wouldn't get drunk from one drink. "Sure, why not. I'll meet you there."

"He's hot," Reed pointed out half an hour later.

April followed her gaze and crinkled her nose. "And he totally knows it," she said as she took a sip of her beer. "I mean, look at that hair!" The girls laughed as Reed stumbled and grabbed their order of onion rings. "Yum," April exclaimed, grabbing one as soon as Reed set down the basket.

"Easy girl," Reed teased, grabbing a ring herself. "So what do you think of Mercy West?"

April raised an eyebrow. "It seems okay...why?"

Reed shrugged. "I really wanted to get into Seattle Grace," she admitted, "but their program was full."

April crinkled her nose. "I dunno. I mean, I'm sure Seattle Grace is great, but...I think you learn more at the smaller hospitals. It's like...I bet Seattle Grace is so busy shipping their patients in and out that the interns aren't getting taught very much."

Reed munched on the onion ring as she considered the idea. "You know, you're probably right. Dart board's open."

"Finally," April sighed, picking up her glass and the basket of onion rings. "I'm not very good," she admitted, as she set the food down and Reed plucked the darts from the board.

"Me either," Reed smiled, her eye landing on something. "Well, well, well, look who it is."

April glanced over her shoulder, seeing Charles and Jackson headed their way. "Hey...you guys couldn't sleep either?"

"Nope," Jackson replied, taking a sip from his beer. "I'm too worked up to sleep."

"There's better ways to work off that energy," Charles smirked as he stole an onion ring.

"Like you would know," Reed retorted and slapped his hand.

April shook her head as the two started teasing back and forth. She took another drink of her beer and picked up the dart, focusing on the board. She flung the dart through the air, frowning when it bounced off the side.

"You're dropping your elbow," Jackson observed, "and it's throwing everything else off."

April looked to him and frowned. "Do you know everything?"

"Just about," he smirked and moved behind her. "Keep your elbow up," he supported her elbow as he spoke. "Now, try again."

April looked back to the dartboard. "This feels weird."

"That's cause you've been doing it wrong," Jackson laughed. "Trust me."

"Alright." April looked back to the board, then threw the dart. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "I almost hit the bullseye!"

"Good job!" Jackson chuckled, giving her a high-five.

"Oh my God!" Reed blurted suddenly. "You're Jackson _Avery_?!"

"Damnit!" Charles snapped. "I told you not to tell!"

Jackson groaned inwardly and felt April straighten against him. She turned slowly and looked at him with wide eyes. "You...you're...an Avery?"

"It's just a name," Jackson snapped somewhat harshly. He grit his teeth. "Sorry."

April slipped away from him and retrieved her drink. "So your grandfather is..."

"Yeah," Jackson cut her off.

"And your mom..."

Jackson sighed heavily. "Yes."

April's mouth dropped. She had acted completely incompetent in front of a freaking _Avery_. For crying out loud, they practically _invented_ surgery! And she couldn't even suture someone's arm without looking like an idiot! "Yesterday...in the ER...Jackson, I swear, I'm better than that."

"Oh, knock it off!" Jackson frowned. "Don't do this, okay? Nothing has changed."

"Everything has changed!" April shrieked.

Jackson took a drink of his beer and rubbed between his eyes. "April, nothing has changed. I'm an intern, just like you. I'm not my family, okay?" For once he had established a friendship based on his own merits. It wasn't his family name, his grandfather, his mother, none of that. She hadn't even known who he was, yet she befriended him. That was the kind of people he needed in his life. Not people who would kiss his ass because of his family.

April took a breath. "Just know I'm not an idiot, alright?"

Jackson softened. "I know you're not," he answered.

April cast him a shy smile and bit her lip. A silence settled between them as she looked around, her eyes stopping on a pool table. "You shoot pool?" she asked, looking back over to him smugly.

Jackson grinned and set his beer beside her glass. "You need me to teach you that too?" he teased.

April laughed. "Nope, I'm the best pool player in Ohio."

"Oh really?" Jackson smirked. "Prove it."

"You're on," April grinned. She let out a sigh of relief as things relaxed between them. She hadn't meant to freak out on Jackson, but it was a shock to know that he was the grandson of such a surgical superstar. He hadn't mentioned it once though-that's what impressed her. April found herself hoping that she and Jackson would be friends for a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Guys!" Reed exclaimed three weeks later as she plopped down at Charles and Jackson's table.

"Where's the fire?" Jackson asked, making a quick grab for the bottled cola Reed nearly knocked over in her haste.

"Yeah, what's up?" Charles frowned, taking a big bite of his hamburger.

"It's April," Reed got out through gasps of breath.

"What's wrong with April?" Jackson asked, frowning instantly. "Come on, Reed, spit it out!"

Reed held up a finger, holding her side for a moment. "April got assigned a surgery."

"What?!" Charles bellowed, his voice rising.

"That's awesome!" Jackson exclaimed. "We've got to go see how she does."

Reed shook her head furiously. "No! It's not good."

Jackson's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you talking about? She's the first intern to get this kind of shot."

Reed nodded, leaning back in the chair. "That's just it! My cousin went through the program at Seattle Grace a few years back. She claims that the attendings give an appendectomy to an intern, knowing that they're going to blow it. The point is to make us realize that we're operating on people...that lives are at stake, you know?"

Jackson frowned deeply. "That doesn't even sound legit. Your cousin is crazy."

"It's for real!" Reed exclaimed. "They just did it to an intern last week...George something. Anyway, he blew it, and now his nick name is Double-O-Seven."

"Double-O-Seven," Charles snorted.

"Licensed to kill," Jackson murmured. "You think that's what's going on here? Why would Arnolds _do_ that to her? Does he hate her or something?"

Reed shrugged. "Sometimes the interns surprise them...maybe that's what he's hoping will happen with April."

"Yeah right," Charles laughed. "April's gonna freak out, and we all know it. That girl is high strung."

Jackson glared at him for a moment, then looked back to Reed. "Does April know anything about this?"

"About what my cousin says?" Reed questioned. "No, of course not," she answered after Jackson nodded hurriedly.

"Why didn't you tell her?!" Jackson snapped.

"I didn't have _time_!" Reed snapped back.

"Yet you have time to tell us?" Jackson frowned, standing quickly.

"What are you going to do?!" Reed yelled, watching him hurry from the cafeteria.

"I've got to warn her!" Jackson called back before running from the cafeteria.

April sat quietly in the locker room trying to cram at the last minute. It still didn't seem real to her-she was actually going to operate on someone. Arnolds had pulled her aside earlier in the morning, told her he'd been watching her, and that she had good potential. He wanted her to perform an appendectomy with him at her side, of course.

April was floored. Sure, it was a simple procedure, but it was a start! Actually, it was _the_ start of her career. She bit her lip-the only thing she was worried about was burying the stump. But, Arnolds would be right there beside her, so he'd help her. She took a deep breath, stuffed her book into her locker, and headed for the OR.

"Dr. Arnolds!" April exclaimed minutes later as she approached the OR door. "I just want to thank you for this opportunity! I've been studying and trying really hard, and I just..."

"You earned it, Dr. Kepner," Arnolds replied without looking up from his clipboard. "Go scrub in." He half-smiled as he watched the eager young intern practically skip into the room. "Five minute scrub!" he called after her. He had a feeling this one was going to pull it off. April was thorough, compassionate, and had been reviewing the technique ever since he had told her. "Hey, where are you going Dr. Avery?"

Jackson grit his teeth and pointed over the man's shoulder. "I gotta...I need to...I need to tell April, uh Dr. Kepner, something."

"She's scrubbing in," Arnolds replied. "You can speak to her later."

Jackson looked to the door, then back to his mentor. "You can't do this to her!" he exclaimed. "She's not going to handle this well! Not at all! Please, Dr. Arnolds."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Arnolds replied, unphased. "Get to the gallery."

"But-"

"Now, Dr. Avery!" Arnolds snapped.

Jackson grit his teeth, cast a final glance to the OR door, then left.

Arnolds took a deep breath, tied on his mask, and entered to scrub in himself.

"Did you get to her?" Reed asked as Jackson dropped into the chair beside her.

"No," Jackson replied defeatedly. He glared over to Charles who was taking bets as to how long it'd be before April passed out. "God, I hope she pulls this off."

"She will," Reed replied. "April's a good doctor."

"I know she's a good doctor," Jackson snapped back. "But I also know how nervous she gets." He'd never forget how her hands shook when she was about to suture that woman's arm their first day.

A silence settled in the gallery as April entered the operating room. One of the scrub nurses tied on her gown, tied her mask, and held the gloves open as she stuffed her hands inside. April adjusted her gloves and stepped up to the table, taking a deep breath. She said a small prayer, cast a shy glance to Dr. Arnolds and extended her hand to the surgical tech. "Scalpel."

Jackson smiled at the..._authority_ in her voice. "You go, April!" he exclaimed, doing a fist pump.

April's eyes shot to the gallery and the blush rose in her cheeks.

"Quiet, Avery," Dr. Arnolds scolded.

Jackson gave her the thumbs up sign anyway.

April smiled and ducked her head, casting him another quick glance, then took a breath and looked back to the patient on the table. She placed the scalpel over the man's stomach and looked to Dr. Arnolds. He nodded for her to continue. April slid the scalpel across the skin, frowning when she barely left a red mark. "More pressure," Arnolds advised. "The skin is very thick." April nodded, returned her scalpel to her starting line and pressed down until she saw blood pop through the betadine. "Good," Arnolds spoke, watching as she sliced through the abdomen. "Now what?"

"Open the peritoneum, and visualize the appendix," April replied immediately.

"Right," Arnolds smiled, glancing as his pager blared loudly.

"Shit, she's going to pull this off," Jackson grinned, scooting to the edge of his chair so he could get a better look as April returned the scalpel to the surgical tech and requested the forceps.

"Damn, I've lost the pool," Charles frowned deeply.

"I knew she could do it," Reed beamed as April clamped off the appendix and requested the scalpel again.

"Look at her go," Jackson grinned, watching as April dropped the appendix into the surgical pan.

The gallery of interns whooped and cheered.

April let out another sigh, then felt herself relax. The hard part was over.

"Now what?" Arnolds asked, glancing up from his pager.

"Invert the stump and stitch up the cecum," April replied.

"Right," Arnolds grinned under his mask. He knew this one could handle it. Kepner was going to be his star student. "Just be careful not to rip-" He couldn't even finish the sentence before the monitors started to screech loudly.

April's eyes widened. "Dr. Arnolds!" she practically shrieked as blood and stool flooded her vision.

"Talk to me, Kepner!" Arnolds snapped, dropping the pager and moving to her side. "What happened?!"

"I was...and I guess I..." April stuttered. "I pulled too hard, and it just ripped, and..."

"Get in there," Arnolds urged. "There's blood, Dr. Kepner, he's bleeding!"

April's mind short circuited. "I can't...I can't see!"

"Blood pressure is ninety-six over fifty," the scrub nurse spoke up.

"Suction first, Dr. Kepner," Arnolds instructed.

"Oh my God," Reed whispered.

"Shit," Charles cursed.

"Come _on_, April!" Jackson encouraged.

A deathly silence fell over the interns as they watched in horror.

"I can't find the purse strings!" April shrieked.

"Dr. Arnolds?" the scrub nurse questioned, concern to her voice.

"Move," Arnolds barked. April staggered back as he took over suctioning and began repairing her damage. The monitors eased their shrill screaming. "Kepner, close him up." Arnolds waited, then glanced over his shoulder, seeing April frozen in fear. "Dr. Kepner," he spoke louder. "Close this patient up."

April shook her head. "I-I c-can't..." She ran from the room.

"If you call her double-o-seven, I'm going to kill you," Jackson snarled, then bolted from the gallery.

April nearly collapsed once she reached the locker room. She shut the door and locked it, leaning against the door. She had nearly killed that man...if Dr. Arnolds hadn't been there... The tears came to her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself. She wasn't cut out for this. There was no way she was going to survive her internship if she couldn't even perform a simple appendectomy! "Go away!" she croaked when someone moved the door knob.

"April!" Jackson called. "It's me, Jackson!"

April knew it was him. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Not right now, Jackson!"

"Come on, April, it wasn't that bad!" came the reply. "Open the door."

April pushed herself away from the door, starting to pace. "I'm fine, just give me a minute!"

Jackson yanked off his hospital ID and easily opened the door. "You're not fine."

"Jackson!" April shrieked. "I said I'm fine, okay?!" She felt herself starting to crumble, despite her strong front. The anxiety was running through her veins. She could have actually killed that man.

"It could have happened to anyone," Jackson said simply, closing the door and locking it. "You did great."

"I almost killed him!"

"April, you didn't," he assured her. "You couldn't have predicted that...you're just not experienced enough to know how to react. That's all."

April's lip trembled. "I can't...I couldn't...if I had been by myself..."

"But you weren't," Jackson spoke softly, taking a step closer to her. "It's okay."

A tear rolled down April's cheek. "I'd have killed him if I had been alone...a man comes in for a simple procedure, gets me as a surgeon, and he dies! He would have died, Jackson! And I would have killed him!" Her shoulders started to shake as she buried her face in her hands.

Jackson crossed the distance, wrapping his arms around her and guiding her to sit on the bench beside the lockers. He didn't say anything, he just held her, rubbed her back, and let her cry. It must have been scary as hell for her.

Several minutes later April pressed her cheek against Jackson's chest and sniffed her nose. "I'm not cut out for this," she finally whispered.

"Yes, you are," Jackson spoke against her hair. "You kicked ass up there, April. You really did great. You just got scared and panicked. Next time, you'll know what could happen, and you'll be prepared."

"There's not going to be a next time!" April exclaimed. "If I can't even do an appendectomy, do you really think I can do anything else?" She eased back and looked at him expectantly.

"Practice makes perfect," Jackson reasoned.

April's eyebrows shot up. "What does _that_ mean?"

"That means," Jackson stated, standing, "that we take a trip to the cadaver lab."

April frowned. "I'm not going to the cadaver lab."

"Yes, you are," Jackson said simply, reaching down and taking her hand.

"Let me go!" April shrieked as he hauled her to her feet.

"After we practice a few times," Jackson replied casually, walking over to the door and unlocking it.

"Jackson, stop!" April shrieked as he drug her from the locker room. "I'm not kidding!"

Jackson simply ignored his friend, walking as if she wasn't even protesting behind him. He smiled and winked at the staff who gave them questioning looks. "Dr. Arnolds," he greeted as their resident approached them. It was amazing how quickly April shut up behind him.

"Dr. Kepner," Arnolds looked to her with mild concern. "You did a great job up there. You just...have to be prepared for the unexpected."

"We were just discussing that," Jackson spoke up smugly. "April wants to perform an appendectomy on one of cadavers to get more familiar with the procedure."

"No, I don't!" April hissed, glaring a hole into Jackson's back.

"Good way to get back on the horse, Dr. Kepner," Arnolds praised. "I'll touch base with you later."

"Let's go," Jackson grinned, dragging April once again.

Thirty minutes later April glared at Jackson across the corpse. "I'm not doing it," she replied stubbornly, crossing her arms.

"Then it looks like we'll be standing here all day," Jackson shrugged.

April looked away for a minute, a silence settling in. "Okay, fine!" she snapped. "Scalpel!"

Jackson grinned and passed her the scalpel. April was quite cute when she was all fired up. He watched as she cut into the abdomen easily.

April repeated the same steps she had done before, taking a deep breath as she dropped the appendix into the pan Jackson held out to her. Her hands shook slightly as she started to stitch up the cecum.

Jackson slid his hand into lab coat pocket, retrieving the small bottle of hand sanitizer.

"Jackson!" April screeched as he squirted something into the cavity. She looked to him with murder in her eyes.

"Think," Jackson said simply, keeping his eyes on hers. "What do you do, April?"

April hesitated. "Suction, repair the bleeder, and continue."

Jackson smiled. "So do it."

April gave him a thankful smile, then looked to the cadaver and finished the 'procedure.' "Done," she announced happily, looking to the stitches.

Jackson leaned over, getting a closer look. "Very nice, Dr. Kepner."

April bit her lip, finding herself blushing. "Hey, Jackson?" she asked softly, watching as he shifted his eyes up to her.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"I'm going to do it," Reed announced one day as she plunked her lunch tray onto the table across from April.

April frowned slighly as she picked up the dropped potato chip. "Did Arnolds give you a surgery or something?"

"Yeah right," Reed scoffed. "I'm going to ask Jackson out."

April's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "You-you're what?"

Reed smiled a bit. "Yep, I'm going to do it." She opened her coke can as she spoke. "I've given him enough time...he's not going to ask me out, so I'm just going to ask him. He's hot, so why not?"

April chewed her lip. "I've always thought the guy should ask out the girl."

"Ppppffftttt," Reed shook her head. "Welcome to the twenty-first century, goody-goody." She groaned as her pager blared loudly. "Can you dump this?" she asked, standing hurriedly and pulling on her lab coat. "Thanks, catch you later!"

April stared at her friend's lunch tray for a few seconds. Reed...was going...to ask out Jackson. Hmmm. She couldn't explain it, but...something...something didn't feel right about that. April chewed another chip slowly as she mulled over the thought. Why did she suddenly have this uneasy feeling in her stomach?

April jarred as her pager blared loudly from her hip. Nine-one-one. She disposed of the trays quickly and ran down to the pit. "You pa-," she started as she burst through the double doors, then skidded to a hault, her mouth dropping. "Ow!" she squeaked as Charles and Jackson ran into her back.

"Oh my," Charles started.

"What the hell _happened_?!" Jackson exclaimed, his eyes roaming the scene before him.

"Car wreck," Arnolds informed them as he joined them. "We need all hands today. Notify me if you think your patient needs surgery."

"Mine's definitely going to need surgery," Charles smirked, rubbing his hands together before darting towards a burn victim.

"It's showtime," Jackson murmured before he and April parted ways.

April watched Jackson for a moment, then grabbed a nearby patient. "Hello, sir, I'm Dr. Kepner, and I'll be checking you out today," she spoke, focusing in on her job. "Wanna tell me what happened?" she asked, whipping the stethoscope from around her neck and putting it to his chest.

The man grit his teeth. "Our youth group was going to California to go white water rafting," he began.

"Deep breath," April instructed. She frowned to herself.

"This guy," the man spoke, a sharpness to his voice, "he just...ran the red..."

April watched in horror as the man's eyes rolled. She listened a second longer before barking for the nurse. "I need a syringe!" she screamed as she lowered the head of the bed so the man was flat. "Now!"

"Kepner, what's going on?" Arnolds asked, leaving his patient with Reed.

"His lung collapsed!" April screeched, ripping open the man's shirt. "I thought his right side sounded different..."

"Dr. Arnolds?" Cynthia, the RN, questioned as she appeared with a ten cc syringe in hand.

"Give me that," April exclaimed after swabbing the man's side with iodine and yanking on a pair of sterile gloves. Her hands shook slightly as she eased the needle through the man's flesh. She held her breath as she performed the needle aspiration, then sighed with relief as the man's color returned to normal and his eyes slowly fluttered opened.

"Good job," Arnolds beamed. "Cynthia, admit him to the third floor. We need to monitor him overnight."

"Yes sir, Dr. Arnolds," Cynthia replied, then hurried to the nurse's station to begin the paperwork.

"Kepner, take the girl over by Jackson," Arnolds instructed. "If you need any help, just yell."

"Yes sir," April answered before jogging over to the girl. "Hi, I'm Dr. Kepner, and I'll..."

"Is Jason going to be okay?!" the girl shrieked.

"Who-who's Jason?" April asked.

"The guy you were just with!"

April glanced over her shoulder. "Is he.."

"That's our youth pastor!" the girl shrieked. "Please, tell me he's going to be okay! He has to be okay!"

April looked to the young teen compassionately. "He's going to be fine," she assured her, placing her gloved hand on the girl's trembling one. "He just had a collapsed lung. I pulled the air out, and he's going to be fine. They're keeping him to make sure nothing else more serious is going on."

The girl's breathing slowly returned to normal, and she relaxed marginally. "Th-thank y-you."

April smiled gently. "So, Jason told me you guys were going white water rafting?" she made conversation as she cleaned her stethoscope before putting it to the girl's chest.

"Yeah," the girl sighed. "We've wanted to do it for a couple of years, but we couldn't raise enough money until this year."

April nodded. "Yeah, I remember doing that in my youth group. We washed cars, had bake sales, and stuff just so we could go on a week-long retreat. We had fun."

The girl sighed heavily. "We were really looking forward to it, but then that guy ran that red light...plowed right into us..." Tears filled her eyes. "Then...the bus turned over..."

April bit her lip. "We're going to take very good care of you," she promised, looking to the girl for a moment.

The girl sniffed and nodded, then wiped at her nose. "Thank you, Dr. Kepner."

April smiled. "What's your name?" she asked as she wrapped the stethoscope back around her neck.

"Amelia," the girl answered.

"Well, Amelia, your lungs sound good," April reported, "but I want to look you over and see if you have any cuts or bruises I need to stitch up, okay?"

"In here?!" Amelia asked, her eyes darting around the busy emergency room.

"It's going to be okay," April assured her as she pulled the curtains around them, closing them off from the mayhem. "See? It's just us. Are you hurting anywhere?"

Amelia shook her head. "I think I'm too scared to feel anything," she replied as she shifted to move to the side of the bed. "Ow," she frowned.

"What is it?" April asked immediately.

"My ankle's asleep," Amelia answered.

April moved to the end of the bed quickly. She noticed the swelling to the girl's pants leg immediately. "I'm going to be gentle, okay?" she asked as she carefully started moving the jeans up the girl's leg. "I'm sorry," she apologized as Amelia grunted. As soon as she revealed the swollen, purple skin, April knew that Amelia had a broken ankle. "Amelia, what happened in the crash? Were you trapped? Did something fall on your leg?"

"I-I don't remember," Amelia answered softly, staring at her leg. "I bl-blacked out-out, and then I w-woke up he-here."

"Amelia," April spoke calmly, looking to her. "I'm going to get the orthopedic surgeon, okay? He's going to take a look at you and then probably send you up for some x-rays. You're going to be fine."

Amelia nodded slowly. "I didn't think I was h-hurt..."

"You're still in shock," April answered. "Dr. Davis will be here in a minute." April hurried to Dr. Arnolds side, pointing out Amelia and the definite broken ankle.

"Sir!" Jackson screamed from across the room. "Sir!" He caught a man falling to the ground, then put his fingers to the man's neck. "He's not breathing!"

"Code blue!" Arnolds yelled.

April hurried over to Jackson's side, dropping to her knees across from him. "Start compressions!" she exclaimed.

Jackson sat in shock for half a second, then placed his hands on the man's chest, starting to count. "One, two, three..."

"Crash cart!" April yelled, looking over her shoulder. "Move! Get out of the way!" There were so many scrambling hospital personnel that the cart couldn't even get through. She scrambled to her feet, pushing through. She quickly snatched the ambu bag from the cart and returned to Jackson's aid. "Stop!" She put the mask over the man's nose and mouth and squeezed two even breaths.

Jackson started more compressions after checking for a pulse and finding none. He frantically looked to the code team who was still trying to get to them. "Get the hell out of the way!" he yelled, sweat popping onto his forehead.

"Let me know if you want to switch," April told him as she squeezed the ambu bag two more times.

"I'm good," Jackson answered, starting compressions again.

Seconds later the code team was able to reach them, pushing the interns aside and taking over.

Five minutes later the man was pronounced dead.

Jackson and April watched quietly as they put his body onto a gurney and wheeled him away. April looked over to him. "You okay?" she asked softly.

"He was fine," Jackson spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "He was telling me about the whole thing, and then..."

April bit her lip, looking down to the floor. "You did great, Jackson," she encouraged. "You called for help, and you started compressions almost instantly...it was just...his time to go.."

Jackson kept quiet for a minute, then nodded. "Yeah...Mom always said you can't save them all." He pushed himself up and extended his hand down to help her up.

April took his hand, brushing off her pants after she stood. Her eyes roamed the now emptying emergency room-it seemed the staff had handled the catastrophe with ease. "So, you and Reed, huh?" she blurted out.

April had _no_ idea why those words had come spilling from her lips, but she instantly regretted it once the surprise ran across Jackson's face.

"Me and.._who_?" Jackson asked, his eyebrows raising.

April's eyes widened as she slowly connected the pieces. Reed obviously hadn't asked him yet. "Oh, ummm...I, well...you see...I need to check in with Arnolds."

"No you don't," Jackson replied, catching her arm quickly. "What's going on, April?"

April chewed her lip. "Well...I just thought...you know..." She wished _anyone_ would interrupt her right now. Her and her big mouth.

Jackson stood there patiently. He watched as she stopped talking and looked around nervously. "Spit it out, Kepner," he snapped. "We're not leaving until you do."

April sighed heavily. "Alright, fine! Reed's planning on asking you out, and I just thought she'd done it already."

Jackson's eyebrows shot up. "So that's why she..."

"That's why she what?" April interruped quickly.

Jackson shrugged. "She's been hanging around me today. I figured it's cause she thought Arnolds favored me..." He left off the part about his last name being Avery. "Damn, here she comes." Jackson moved quickly, shoving April into a nearby supply closet and closing the door quickly.

"You can't hide from her!" April exclaimed, nearly shrieking. She gasped as Jackson put his finger over her lips, listening intently.

Once satisfied that Reed had moved on, Jackson looked back to April. He hesitated for a moment, as if noticing her for the first time. Maybe it was the darkness of the closet, the intimate way they were standing, or the fact that April had no interest in him what-so-ever, but..he finally noticed how _pretty_ she was. The hair she had normally pulled up in a tight ponytale hung in loose strands around her face, and her eyes were so bright, and...innocent. Jackson found himself leaning towards her marginally as he lowered his finger from her lips.

"Is she gone?" April whispered, looking to the door and then up to him.

Jackson jarred, glancing over his shoulder. "Yeah," he replied, his voice cracking, "I think she is."

April nodded. "Not into her, huh?"

Jackson bit his lip. "No."

April made a face. "Just let her down gently, okay? Don't be a jerk."

Jackson frowned. "I won't," he replied a bit defensively, watching as she leaned past him and opened the door.

"Good, cause getting dumped sucks." April's mind flitted to Aaron, her ex boyfriend, who had broken up with her because she wouldn't sleep with him. He had done it in such a...cold fashion. Like, it was a business transaction or something. She had spent the next month crying over him. Reed was her friend, and she didn't want her crying over Jackson, cause...Jackson was her friend too. "See ya later."

Jackson watched April leave and shook his head. He must have been out of circulation entirely too long if he was looking at April. Not that anything was wrong with April, it's just that she was his friend. And she'd eventually become his competition. You couldn't mix business with pleasure. It'd turn into a mess. His mother had dated enough of her coworkers to prove that. Jackson looked down as his pager beeped, and he ran for the fourth floor.

* * *

"Men suck," Reed declared as she joined April in the locker room later that night.

April bit her lip. "I'm guessing things didn't go that well with Jackson?"

"No!" Reed exclaimed. "He feeds me this bullshit line about not wanting to date people he works with, but I saw him flirting with a nurse. A _nurse_, can you believe it?"

April pulled off her scrub top and yanked on a tshirt. "Nothing is wrong with nurses."

"Yeah right," Reed replied dryly. "Nurses are just idiots who couldn't make it as a doctor."

"Don't do that," April replied. "Nurses are the ones we depend on. They spend more time with the patients than we do, and they know everything the patients won't tell us. You should be nice to them."

Reed raised her eyebrows. "Really, April? Maybe _you_ should have been a nurse then."

April felt her cheeks flame as she turned and focused on organizing things in her locker. She bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry. She was tired and just overly sensitive.

Reed hung her head, then moved to April's locker. "I'm sorry," she spoke quietly, reaching out and touching April's arm. "I'm just bummed cause Jackson turned me down."

April blinked several times, then closed her locker door. "It's okay. Wanna go to Joe's? My treat?"

Reed gave her a thankful smile. "That sounds great."

The girls pulled on raincoats and left the lockerroom, nearly bumping into Jackson as he passed through with his arm draped around the second floor charge nurse. Amanda something.

"Ugh," Reed groaned, leaning back against the wall dramatically.

April bit her lip, feeling that twinge of jealousy surging up inside of her. She..never really considered Jackson attractive...not like, she wanted to go out with him or anything, but...something inside of her reared up when she thought of him dating other people. That feeling was kicked into overdrive at the moment. "Huh?" she asked as Reed snapped her fingers.

"Earth to April," Reed stated, snapping her fingers. "You completely zoned out on me."

"Sorry," April blushed. "What'd you say?"

Reed glanced over her shoulder, watching as Jackson and the nurse ducked into a taxi. "I'm prettier than her, right?"

"Absolutely," April answered. She scrunched her nose. "Besides, you know what Charles said..."

"What?" Reed asked, stepping closer to her and lowering her voice.

"Amanda gets around," April whispered, feeling awful for bad mouthing the girl. Well, she felt partly awful, but a small part of her _wanted_ to talk about the nurse.

Reed nodded. "That totally explains it. Let's get out of here."

The girls caught a taxi and fifteen minutes later they were drowning their troubles in long-necked glasses of Long Island Iced Tea-Reed's drink of choice.

The liquor had obviously done its thing, cause April was feeling completely at ease and couldn't stop laughing. "Sorry," she giggled as she missed the dart board entirely and nearly pelted an innocent bystander.

"You've forgotten my tips already?" a voice tisked.

"Jackson!" Reed exclaimed, sliding from her chair and nearly falling over. "We didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah," April giggled, "aren't you supposed to be out with that nurse?"

A slow smirk crossed Jackson's face. "Are you keeping tabs on me, Dr. Kepner?" he teased, reaching out and catching her arm as she staggered slightly.

"No," April replied immediately, moving to the dart board and retrieving her darts. "It's just kinda obvious why you chose her."

Jackson frowned slightly. Sure, he'd heard the rep about Amanda, but...he didn't want April thinking he was like that. _Why_ didn't he want her thinking that way of him though? Who really cared _what_ she thought? "Beer," he spoke to a nearby waitress. He slid into her chair across from Reed. "Hey."

Reed's eyes narrowed instinctively. "Hey," she replied dryly.

"Don't do that," Jackson frowned. "Would you have rather I strung you along?" He never beleived in beating around the bush. Reed may hate him tonight, but tomorrow she'd be fine when she knew that she could move on.

Reed sighed dramatically. "No," she finally admitted.

"Friends?" Jackson asked.

"Friends," Reed finally replied.

"Good, now what the hell did you order her to drink?" he asked, motioning to April who had lost all forms of coordination. She wasn't hitting anywhere close to the bullseye.

"Long island iced tea," Reed answered. "I guess it's too strong for her."

Jackson barely heard his co-worker. His eyes were trained on the guy with brown hair who was watching April. He watched as the guy left the bar and headed her direction. Jackson was on his feet in lightening speed, at her side putting his arm on her back. "You're not doing very well," he said lowly in her ear. He knew how it would appear. He watched with satisfaction as the pursuer turned and moved to a woman with red hair.

April laughed. "I think I've had too much to drink...but I only had one of Reed's drinks."

Jackson smiled softly. "It just shows you're pure of heart. Let's get you home." He kept his hand on her back to steady her as she retrieved her jacket. "See you in the morning," he bid farewell to Reed.

"Yeah, see you then," Reed replied, watching closely. It was quite obvious to her now why Jackson had turned her down.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The next morning, April groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, throwing her arm across her face.

"Rise and shine," Jackson spoke, standing and moving to the side of the bed. "Come on, April, it's almost noon."

"Noon?!" April shrieked, jerking into a sitting position and grabbing her head. "Why didn't you wake me?!" she demanded, glaring at Jackson. "Arnolds already hates me, now he's going to fire me?!" Her eyes narrowed. "Stop _laughing_, Jackson!"

Jackson still chuckled as he sat beside her. "We're off today," he reminded her, reaching to her bedside table. "Here, take these, and I'll get you some coffee." He handed her two aspirin and a glass of water.

April looked to his hand, then plucked the aspirin from his palm. "Why do I have a headache?" she asked after swallowing the two pills.

Jackson smiled softly. "You and Reed went out last night," he reminded her gently. "Reed got you to try a new drink...and it was obviously too much for you..."

April bit her lip, hanging her head. He must have thought of her like a child-what other kind of woman couldn't handle her liquor. "Did...anything...happen..." She looked to him expectantly.

Jackson shook his head. "No, you started dancing on the tables, so I figured it was time to bring you home." He laughed when April gasped and covered her face. "I'm kidding," he chuckled, grasping her wrists and pulling her hands onto her lap. "You played a few lousy games of darts, and I brought you home. No harm, no foul."

April sighed with relief and relaxed against the pillows. "I can't believe I slept so late," she frowned. "We don't get many days off...I've wasted half of mine." She looked to him. "What did I even drink?"

"Long Island Iced Tea," Jackson answered. "It's a pretty stiff drink, April. It's got seven kinds of liquors in it."

April's eyes widened, and she slunk down in the bed. "I...didn't know...that."

Jackson gave her a smile of compassion. "No one judges you," he assured her, patting her knee gently. "Rest here, and I'll be right back."

April watched as he left, though part of her wanted to crawl under the bed and die. She hoped she hadn't done anything stupid. Jackson was the one person she respected, and she certainly didn't want to act like an idiot in front of him. She chewed her lip, watching as he entered minutes later with a cup of coffee. "Thank you," she said sincerely, making eye contact with him. "I really appreciate it."

Jackson looked to her for several moments, then his gaze shifted to her lips. He wondered what it'd be like to kiss April. How did her lips feel? In that moment, he wanted to kiss her with every fiber of his being, but something deep inside of him told him it was the wrong time, so he resisted the urge. "Better?" he asked casually as he watched the dark liquid cross her lips.

April smiled softly. "Creme and sugar, just like a like..." She quirked her head at him. "How did you know?"

Jackson bit his lip, looking off. He couldn't possibly tell her that he'd paid attention to how she ordered her coffee... "Girls usually order their coffee with creme and sugar," he shrugged. "Real men take their coffee black."

April raise an eyebrow at him. "So, you take your coffee black?"

"Absolutely," Jackson grinned, thankful for the conversation shift. "If you're okay, I guess I'll head out...you don't need me hanging around all day..."

April bit her lip. "Actually," she spoke up, "I don't have that many friends here...if you don't mind..." She chewed her lip now, nervous. What if he didn't want to spend time with her? Would he think she was clingy or something?

Jackson looked to her, raising his eyebrows. He saw the uncomfortableness crossing her gentle features. "You wanna watch a movie or something?" he asked, deciding to make it easy for her.

April sighed with relief. "Yeah, I'd like that. My head still hurts," she admitted.

Jackson laughed softly. "That will go away in a little while." He looked over to the bookshelf containing her movie collection. "Do you have a preference? If you pick a chick flick, I'm going to kill you."

April outright laughed. "Okay, what about _Red Eye_?"

Jackson raised his eyebrow. "Wes Craven?" he questioned. "Seriously?"

"It's not a scary movie," April replied defiantly. "It's no Freddy Krueger or anything like that."

Jackson looked to her, teasing in his eyes. "Is Freddy Krueger too much for you?"

April bit her lip. "Yeah," she admitted, looking down. "I can't go to sleep after seeing him." She felt stupid as she spoke the words.

Jackson spoke without thinking. "Invite me over next time. I'll be here so that you can sleep."

April looked to him, her gaze lingering. She watched as the realization of what he said hit him like a ton of bricks. He looked down, then looked back to her, questions running in his eyes. April simply took his hand and turned on the movie.

* * *

"No _way_ are they together," Charles frowned two days later as he and Reed sat across from each other eating lunch.

"I'm telling you, they are!" Reed exclaimed. "He freaking turned me down! Who would turn me down? Seriously? He has to be doing April."

Charles raised an eyebrow. "You are pretty uptight," he teased. "Plus, you're a bit snobby."

"I am _not_!" Reed exclaimed, throwing her roll at him.

Charles chuckled to himself. "I'm keeping this," he smirked, putting the roll on his plate.

Reed sighed, looking to the cafeteria line as April and Jackson went through it, talking intimately to one another. "See? They're always together."

"That doesn't meant anything," Charles replied.

"Oh yeah?" Reed asked, her eyebrows raised. "Prove it-ask out April."

Charles dropped the roll he was about to take a bite of. "You've...got to be kidding?"

Reed scrunched her nose. "What's wrong with April?" Her eyes shifted to her friend. "She's cute, she's sweet, and she's a damn good surgeon." Her eyes move to Charles. "What's your problem with her?"

"Nothing," Charles replied immediately. He couldn't bring himself to tell Reed he had a thing for _her_, so his eyes moved to April. He looked her up and down-she was attractive, in a school girl kind of way. She was a bit high strung though. He chewed his lip thoughtfully-if he didn't ask out the anal intern, Reed would think he was a pig. So...he kinda _had_ to ask April out to prove to Reed that he was a decent guy...and to blow a hole in her whole April and Jackson theory. "Hey, April," he greeted as April and Jackson joined them.

April's eyebrows shot up quizzically as Jackson's eyes narrowed. "Hey, Charles...how's it going?"

"Good," Charles replied, his eyes shifting to Reed for a second. "How are you?"

April bit into a french fry, her eyes full of questions. "I'm good...long day...but thanks for asking."

Charles took a long drink of his soda. He really didn't want to do this, but he had to get on Reed's good side. "Are you..doing anything...tonight?" The words felt strange on his tongue, but at least they were out there. He quirked his head, looking at April in a new light. Who knows, she might surprise him. Get her out of this hospital and she might be a completely different person.

Jackson dropped his chicken sandwich as his eyes focused in on Charles. He managed to force his mouth shut, but a hundred and one thoughts were flashing through his mind. Clocking Charles was one of those thoughts, pretty much the first thought, but...he didn't know _why_ he wanted to deck the intern.

April took a loud sip of her water, then looked to Charles. "No...I don't have any plans tonight...why?"

Jackson looked between the two. "Hey, April, weren't we going to study the lymphatic system tonight?"

April's eyebrows furrowed. "No, Jackson...we...ow," she winced as Jackson kicked her under the table. She leaned down, rubbing her shin gently.

Charles looked to Reed. "Well, I was going to see if you wanted to catch a movie tonight, but if you're busy..."

"I'm not," April started, but Jackson interrupted her.

"Yeah, we're studying the lymphatic system," Jackson spoke up. "Maybe next time, Charles." He stuffed the chicken sandwich into his mouth to prevent himself from saying anything else.

April looked to Jackson, then back to Charles. She saw him hang his head. "I'm not busy tomorrow night..." She knew it was hard for guys to ask someone out, and she didn't want to shut him down so quickly. She paused. "There's this new seafood restaurant I've been wanting to try...but Reed doesn't like fish..."

"Who doesn't like fish?" Charles frowned, looking to Reed.

"_I_ don't like fish," Jackson spoke up.

"Then it seems I'm the only one who can join April," Charles snipped back. He smirked happily when Jackson realized he'd just screwed up. "So, April, do you want me to pick you up, or should we leave from here?"

"Oh, I'd like to get the hospital off of me first," April tisked.

"I could help with that," Charles smirked, looking her over. He didn't mean what he said at all, he just wanted to pick at Jackson a little bit. He looked over to Reed who laughed as April got all flustered.

April opened her mouth, but was interrupted by her pager. She had never been so thankful for a page in her entire life. "That's my patient on the third floor," she spoke as she gathered her lunch tray. "I'll see you guys later."

Jackson felt Charles' eyes on him once April left. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to act as if he wasn't seething inside. "Anything interesting happening today?" he asked, forcing his tone to be light and casual.

"Not much," Reed spoke up. "Arnolds let me do a heart cath."

"Man," Charles whined. "I'm stuck with a post-op with a fever."

Jackson shrugged. "You never know, that could turn into something."

"Yeah, if he takes a turn for the worst," Charles rolled his eyes.

"It could happen," Jackson replied, eating a potato chip. He didn't really care for Charles' bedside manner. Though, at this point in time, he suspected Charles could find a cure for cancer and he'd still hate his guts.

* * *

Later that night, April lugged her books from her room to the living room. "Do you want to start on Hodgkin's lymphoma or non-Hodgkin lymphoma?"

Jackson shrugged. "Whichever one you want to do...I don't care."

April looked to him for a minute. "Jackson, are you alright? You haven't been the same since lunch today. Did you have a bad day with your patient?"

Jackson looked at her. For once since meeting her, he couldn't tell her this. Sure, they'd only known each other a couple of months, but when you spent most of your waking hours with someone, a friendship developed and escalated quickly. He already knew he could tell April anything...excpet this. He couldn't tell her this. He wasn't even sure what _this_ was, but he knew he couldn't tell her that he didn't like the thought of her dating Charles. He wasn't sure if he wanted to ask her out himself, or if he was just brotherly protective of her, or what. "I gotta get out of here," Jackson mumbled, standing.

"You-you're going?" April asked, looking to him, then taking a few steps after him.

"Yeah," Jackson replied, turning and looking at her. "It's been a long day, and...I think I've got a migraine or something starting..." He rubbed his neck for emphasis.

"Should you be driving with a migraine?" April asked, concern in her voice. "You can crash here if you want."

"No, I'm good," Jackson answered quickly. "I can make it home."

"O...kay," April said a bit unsurely. She turned and rifled through her bag, pulling out a bottle of over the counter medication. "Here, take two of these, they always help me."

Jackson took the bottle, his fingers brushing hers. "Thanks," he answered dryly, looking down to her for a moment. He felt that urge to kiss her again. "See you tomorrow."

April watched as Jackson practically ran from her apartment. She chewed her lip, hoping it wasn't something she'd done. "Goodnight...Jackson," she said quietly and closed the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The following day was hell for Jackson Avery. Pure hell. He couldn't focus, he couldn't think about his patients, he couldn't do anything regarding the medical field. All he could focus on was that April, his friend April, was going to go on a date with that douche bag Charles at the end of the day. The thought consumed every inch of his mind. Would Charles hold her hand? Would they connect? Would they kiss at the end of the night?

He was going batshit crazy while April was acting like nothing was wrong. She was moving about her day as if nothing was different. Like she didn't eve _care_ about the date with Charles later that evening.

Maybe she _didn't_ care. Maybe she was just being nice and going out with Charles because he asked.

Better yet, Jackson couldn't explain why his thoughts were focused soley on April...and Charles. He shouldn't care if Charles asked April out. Frankly, he shouldn't care _who_ April went out with. April was his friend and only his friend. April wasn't his lover, his girlfriend, or his fiancee. She was his friend. They exchanged notes between surgeries, shared info on what they had learned that day, and occasionally had lunch together. That was it. Nothing more.

No matter how many times he told himself it didn't matter, April was just his friend, and she could go out with whomever she wanted...he couldn't shake it. His mind kept roaming to what could possibly happen that night. Would April come in the next morning head over heels for Charles? Would he have to listen to her go on and on about what happened? "What?" he snapped as Reed nudged him.

"Arnolds just asked you what could have caused his arteries to narrow," Reed hissed, darting her eyes to the patient lying in the bed looking at them expectantly.

"Hypertension," Jackson spoke up quickly.

Arnolds looked to him for a second, raising his eyebrow, then moved on to the other interns.

"Thank you," Jackson whispered as they filed out of the patient's room and continued down the hall.

"No problem," Reed whispered back, giving him a teasing smile.

Jackson smirked, looking to Reed for a minute. She was cute...in a snobby, elite type way. Her vibes were pretty clear-keep away; but lately, her vibes had been different around him. If what April said was true...and Reed was into him... Maybe that's exactly what he needed. Maybe he had become too dependent on April because she was the only one he had really spoken to since moving to Seattle. He had tried to pursue things with Amanda, but she was too easy. She'd sleep with anyone who had MD behind his name.

Reed on the other hand...Reed could be fun. She might be just what he needed to get over...whatever was going on with April.

"Hey," Jackson whispered in Reed's ear, moving behind her as Arnolds was looking over the surgery board, deciding where to scatter the interns for the day. His eyes darted to April guiltily. She wasn't even noticing him; she was too busy scribbling on her notepad.

Reed jumped, then looked over her shoulder to Jackson. "What?" she whispered back, glancing back to Arnolds.

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

A slow smile crossed Reed's lips. Finally! "No, I was just gonna order a pizza and bring home some beer..." She looked back to Jackson, her eyes moving to his mouth.

"Want some company?"

* * *

Later that evening, April dragged her exhausted body into the locker room. She really wasn't up for her date with Charles-it had been a long, trying day. Unlike her fellow interns, she didn't get to watch a surgery today. Arnolds had her doing floor duty. She had been yelled at, kicked, vomited on, and had done enough enemas to last her a month. She really wanted to bail on Charles and go home, crawl into bed, and not come out for a week. She couldn't do that to him though. "Where's the fire?" she asked as Reed practically raced by her.

"I've got a date tonight," Reed called, whipping out her cell.

April looked over her friend-skin tight jeans and a v-neck blouse. "Who's the lucky guy?" She was trying her best to be supportive, but the word _lucky_ was spoken with a hair of judgement to it.

"Jackson," Reed grinned, then waved. "See you in the morning."

April stood there several moments. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brows. Why...why was Jackson... She shook her head, refusing to let her mind go there. Whatever Jackson did wasn't her concern. She had a date of her own tonight to worry about.

Thirty minutes later April smoothed her palms over the black skirt, adjusted her multi-colored top, and sprayed a small amount of perfume to her wrists. At least she _felt_ better now. The shower had done wonders. She stepped into her black flats, plucked her purse from her locker, and left the locker room. She was supposed to meet Charles out front in five minutes. She hurried down the stairs, stopping as her eyes landed on him. "Hey."

Jackson looked up. "Hey," he greeted, shifting in the chair. His eyes naturally looked her over. "You look nice," he spoke without thinking.

April blushed slightly and looked off. "Thanks," she bit her lip, walking over to him.

Jackson stood slowly, taking her in again. He licked his lips, looking over her head. "Charles...he's waiting for you...he just came by a minute ago..." He cleared his throat and shifted his weight, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

April nodded, looking past Jackson and seeing Charles standing outside. "Thanks..." She bit her lip, trying to make her feet move, but instead, her mouth opened. "Reed is waiting for you too. She seems pretty excited."

Jackson shifted his weight again, feeling guilty. "Yeah...we're gonna hang tonight..."

April nodded, shifting closer to him. "She looks like she's ready for that."

Jackson looked to her face now, trying to figure out what she was thinking. "Maybe I shouldn't go..."

April bit her lip, then sighed quietly. "She...really...likes you." She looked over his shoulder as she spoke, but finally looked up at him.

It was like April was just noticing him for the first time. Had his eyes always been that gorgeous? His face structure was amazing, and his lips... Had he transformed since the last time she looked at him? Her eyes roamed him over. His broad shoulders, obvious toned upper body, and his arms... She felt the blush rising in her cheeks.

"April?" Jackson asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

April stepped back. "I-I better go." She grasped the strap of her purse with both hands and ducked her head, hurrying for the entrance of the hospital.

Jackson turned, watching her go. He had thought...he thought she was going to say something different... His eyes narrowed as he watched Charles approach her, giving her a compliment as his head dipped, looking her from head to toe. Seconds later Charles jogged towards the parking garage. Jackson had to force himself not to go after her.

What would he even say? _Hey, April, I know we're just studying together, and I guess we're friends, but I've been thinking about kissing you lately_. It sounded stupid in his head, so he _knew_ it would sound completely idiotic if he actually spoke the words.

He just needed to get laid, that's all it was to it. He needed to get a release, and he'd be fine. That's all it was. It had been months since he'd had a girlfriend, and he hadn't had a single one night stand since moving to Seattle. If things went well with Reed, maybe he could shake this thing for April once and for all.

* * *

April pushed around the garlic shrimp on her plate as the silence settled in between her and Charles. They talked casually on the drive to the restaurant, talked about their favorite type of seafood while looking over the menu, but there wasn't much else to talk about. Aside from surgery, they didn't really have that much in common. Plus, Jackson kept crossing her mind, and it was completely screwing with her. "Huh?" she jarred as Charles looked to her expectantly.

"I asked if you've ever eaten at the buffet at a casino?" Charles asked.

"No," April replied quietly. "I'm not really the gambling type."

"I don't gamble that much, but the food is worth the trip," Charles replied. "Friday nights they do seafood, and I think you'd enjoy it." He hesitated, shifting in his seat. "Maybe we could go some time...we could get a room, and I could teach you how to play the tables."

April looked down to her plate, stabbing a shrimp with her fork and taking a bite. Telling Charles how she never planned to spend the night with a man who wasn't her husband wasn't really first date material. Maybe the second or third date, but definitely not the first. "Maybe so," she smiled politely after chewing. "If we ever get a Friday night off."

Charles sat back, studying April. Things weren't going too terribly. They were actually going better than he expected. He didn't think he and April would be able to talk at all, but they'd been able to pass the time. She was still nervous though. "Would you like to stop by Joe's?" he asked after requesting the check.

April felt her body sag with relief. She didn't like the pressure of the whole dinner environment. Maybe things could relax between them in the casual environment of Joe's. "Yeah, I think that'd be great."

Charles slipped some cash under the ticket, thanked the waitor, and stood, moving behind April and gently pulling her seat out. He cast his eyes to her backside as she rose, then put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her from the restaurant. April wasn't Reed by a longshot, but she was attractive enough in her own way. He could see himself dating her...nothing serious, of course, but maybe a few rounds in bed if he played his cards right. "I'll be right back with the car," he told her after they stepped into the night air.

"Great," April smiled. Her smile fell as soon as he turned his back. A small part of her considered turning and walking back to her apartment. She didn't care if it was five miles away, there was no salvaging this night. She wasn't attracted to Charles at all, they had nothing in common, and he had already crossed into her personal space. She most certainly had _not_ sent him the signals to touch her. April groaned inwardly as he pulled up. Just a couple more hours at Joe's, and she could call it a night without wounding his male ego. "Lord help me," she whispered as he opened the door for her.

* * *

Across town a television played the movie _Gone in 60 Seconds_, a pizza box lay open with two slices of pizza inside, and seven cans of beer lay strowed across the table. Heavy breathing filled the air as Reed straddled Jackson's lap, pulling his shirt off and tossing it to the ground. Jackson's mouth stayed on hers as his arm wrapped around her waist and he shifted, pressing her into the couch as he loomed over her. His hand smoothed down her frame, cupping her backside and pulling her against him. Reed responded immediately, moving her hips against his in all the right places. She giggled as she felt the rise in his jeans. "Let's go upstairs," she whispered against his ear, nipping at his earlobe sloppily.

Jackson raised up and watched her slide off the couch and stagger towards the stairs. Reed had had entirely too much to drink, and he'd feel guilty if he took advantage of her. His body wanted Reed-she knew what she was doing. The woman definitely knew what to do to get a man hot, but...that's all there was. "Reed, wait," he sighed heavily, leaning back against the couch.

Reed stilled, her hand on the stair railing. She looked to him for several moments. "Seriously?!" she snapped, her eyes narrowing.

"It wouldn't be right," Jackson sighed, motioning to the beer cans. "You're drunk." He retrieved his shirt and pulled it over his head. "I'm gonna take off... I'll see you tomorrow." He ignored the string of curses Reed threw after him. He had done the right thing.

As soon as Jackson was on road, his mind went to April. He dug his cell out of his pocket and checked for any messages.

She hadn't even text him.

Jackson tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and gripped the steering wheel tighter. It was going to be a long night. One of those nights were he didn't want to be home alone. He'd drive himself crazy wondering what April and Charles were up to. So instead, he went to Joe's. Another drink and a few games of darts should calm his nerves.

Jackson parked his truck, crossing the parking lot in a few short strides. "Whoah," he frowned, as Charles burst through the doors of the bar, nearly knocking him down. "Watch it, asshole." Charles didn't even bother turning around, but continued stomping to his car. Seconds later Jackson watched Charles squeal out of the parking lot. Jackson's eyes turned to the door. Was April inside? He took a deep breath and opened the door, scanning the area quickly. He located her in the usual dark corner. She was still as beautiful as ever.

Now the question-did he go over and talk to her or not?

Jackson contemplated the idea, then went to the bar instead. He needed some space from April-she was starting to get under his skin. "Jack and coke," he ordered.

Joe raised an eyebrow. "Rough night, Avery?" he asked as he started to pour the Jack Daniels into a glass.

Jackson glared at him. "Make that just a Jack," he snapped, reaching out and snapping up the glass.

Joe smirked. "I know that look. Your girlfriend is giving you hell."

"I don't have a girlfriend," Jackson frowned after taking a big drink.

"That might be the problem," Joe answered wisely, looking to the far corner. "Someone needs a friend tonight..."

Jackson followed his gaze, his eyes landing on April once again. Sighing heavily, Jackson stood and made his way over to her. "Hey," he greeted quietly.

April looked up with surprise, then smiled. "Hey, Jackson," she said then hesitated. "Didn't you...have a date tonight?"

Jackson shrugged. "It didn't work out," he replied as he sat in the chair across from her. "What about you?" April bit her lip and looked down, running her finger along the rim of the glass. "April?" he asked, his eyebrows raising.

"It didn't work out either," she replied quietly. "Charles is...not the guy for me."

Relief flooded through Jackson. He felt his entire body relax in the chair. He took a drink of his daniels and reached across the table, taking her hand gently. "Don't worry," he spoke softly. "Your guy is out there."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N : Every good friendship has at least one good fight...**

Chapter Seven

The next several months went by in a blur. The interns practically lived, ate, and breathed Mercy West hospital. They'd finally finish a grueling forty-eight hour shift only to be called back in to work less than six hours later due to car accidents, train wrecks, or whatever other accidents people could involve themselves in. It was amazing how the most simple of tasks could end in a catastrophe.

The good thing about pouring yourself into your work was that Jackson and April had some time apart. Sure, they saw each other on a daily basis, but they were being assigned to other areas of specialty. The cooling off period was exactly what they needed. They were able to sink back into that casual relationship again and not notice the details of one another. April didn't notice so much any more how intense Jackson's eyes were. Jackson no longer noticed the cute little quirks April had, like blowing her hair out of her face when she was aggravated.

Yeah right.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

April actually found herself starting to like Jackson. As in, _really_ like Jackson. She found herself looking at him more and more throughout their weeks together. She noticed things about him, like when he didn't shave for a couple of days, and he had a dark shadow to his face. It seemed to bring out his eyes even more. April found herself staring at him more and more on those days. Then, he'd shave up and she'd appreciate the clean cut appearance again. She noticed the cologne he'd wear, the scent practically intoxicating as he'd stand near her during an elevator ride or they'd move through the lunch line together. She was managing to keep her cool around him though-he never suspected she was looking at him differently.

"How much longer do you think they're going to hate us?" April asked one day, sighing heavily, as she sat her tray on the table and dropped into the chair.

Jackson glanced over his shoulder, his eyes landing on Reed and Charles. Reed gave him the finger. "Who cares," he scoffed, sitting with his back to them. "We did right by them...if they want to act like a jackass, then that's on them." He unwrapped his hamburger as he spoke.

April chewed her lip as her eyes landed on Charles. "I still feel bad...it took him a lot of guts to ask me out."

Jackson managed to keep his mouth shut. He didn't have the heart to tell April that Charles was just using her. "Who are you with today?" he changed the subject, dressing his burger with lettuce and tomato.

April rolled her eyes. "Dr. Richmond in Pediatrics."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "You don't like kids?"

"No, I love kids," April replied, smiling, "it's just...Dr. Richmond is an ass." Jackson started to chuckle in spite of himself. "What's so funny?!" April exclaimed, looking to him expectantly.

"I don't think I've ever heard you curse," Jackson chuckled. "And the first time you do...you're talking about an attending."

April blushed and moved a tomato around in her salad. "Well, it's true! He talks down to me...I went to medical school too, you know!" Just because she didn't have a last name like Avery didn't mean she was a total idiot.

Jackson grinned. "Just put on the nice face, say yes sir, and be sure to curtsy," he teased.

"Oh, you!" April laughed, kicking him under the table. She sighed heavily when her pager blared. "I'll see you later, Jackson." She scooped up her lunch tray and hurried from the table.

"Hey, man, Reed is _still_ pissed at you," Charles announced as he took April's seat.

Jackson frowned. "She'll get over it or die with it." He shrugged. "Either way, I really don't care."

"What did you do to her?" Charles chuckled, taking a sip of his cola.

Jackson glanced over his shoulder at Reed. "Respected her more than she respects herself," he answered dryly.

"Don't be a tool," Charles snapped.

Jackson studied him for a second, then laughed. "You are _so_ into her."

"Shut up," Charles frowned, balling up his hotdog wrapper. "Did April, uh, say anything about me?"

"No," Jackson answered. "She's not interested."

"Good," Charles sighed with relief. "April strikes me as the clingy type."

"She's not clingy," Jackson snapped defensively.

"Okay, okay," Charles replied, holding his hands up. "Didn't mean to rag on your booty."

Jackson rolled his eyes as his pager went off. "See you later." He dumped the remains of his lunch and hurried to the fourth floor. "Hey, Dr. Arnolds, you paged?" he asked as he caught sight of Arnolds at the nurse's station.

"Yes, Dr. Avery, you've been requested by another attending," Arnolds informed him. "You'll spend the next two weeks with Dr. Hahn."

Jackson felt his stomach drop. _God, no, not Dr. Hahn_! "Are-are you serious?!" he blurted out.

Arnolds raised an eyebrow. "Is there any particular reason you don't want to learn from our cardiologist, Avery?"

"No, sir," Jackson replied immediately. "I'd love to work with Dr. Hahn..." He wasn't about to tell Dr. Arnolds of the infamous rivalry between Catherine Avery and Erica Hahn. He knew Dr. Hann was going to get her revenge on his mother through him.

"Don't stand there," Arnolds snapped. "Go!"

Jackson squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and moved to the elevators. He could do this. Cardiology was an area he was interested in...who cared if satan was teaching it. He groaned to himself as the elevator doors opened and there she stood.

"Dr. Avery," Hahn smirked.

"Dr. Hahn," Jackson greeted, clearing his throat. "Thank you for requesting me...I'm very interested in cardiology and look forward to learning from you."

"Cut the bullshit, Avery," Hahn replied. "I'm not kissing your ass because of your last name. If you want to make it through this program, you're going to work, go it?"

Jackson pursed his lips, able to hold his tongue for about two seconds. "I'm not afraid of work, Dr. Hahn."

Hahn looked to him, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I'm _so_ glad to hear you say that."

* * *

"I hate her!" Jackson roared in the locker room a week later. "She's making my life hell! All because of my mother!" He looked to the lockers, kicking one in frustration.

April toyed with her hands, biting her lip, as she sat on the bench watching her friend prowl the locker room. Everyone else had cleared out the second Jackson stormed in and threw a chair across the room. "Dr. Hahn is a professional...she wouldn't bring a personal vendetta to work."

Jackson glared at April. "Seriously? Did you actually just say that?!"

April chewed her lip. "I-I'm s-sorry, Jackson, but...she has a reputation of being like that...no one has ever wanted to work with her." She shifted on the bench, tucking her leg under her. "It's not personal, I swear."

Jackson continued to pace in the locker room. He was tempted to give Erica Hahn a piece of his mind and screw the outcome of it. She was purposely torturing him because of his last name.

That's why a small part of him hated his family. Hated them. They had been pushing him since he was ten years old to be a surgeon. They had him studying anatomy and physiology when he was sixteen. He didn't have a life because of the expectations that came with being an Avery. He had no _choice_ in his life! The only thing he was able to accomplish was to put thousands of miles between him and his family. But even then, the curse of the Avery name followed him. He didn't like being catered to because of his last name, but he _damn_ sure didn't like being targeted for it either.

Dr. Hahn was treating him like her personal slave-he'd have to study for her surgeries, verbalize the procedure to her, where she'd quickly chastise him for his mistakes, run her labs, prep her patients...then, she'd stick him in the damn gallery! She wouldn't even reward his endeavors by letting him enter the OR! Dr. Arnolds would at least put him in the OR with another attending!

April chewed her lip as she watched him get more and more worked up. "Jackson," she spoke softly. "It's going to be okay...you're half way through. Dr. Arnolds said it was only for two weeks...she can't do this to you much longer..."

Jackson stopped, glaring at her. "Forgive me, April, but I can't look on the bright side like you can!"

April's eyes widened at the..._anger_ fueling his words. "I'm just trying to help," she whispered.

"Well, stop trying," Jackson snapped. "You can't help me this time, okay?! You have no idea what kind of pressure I'm under! No idea!" He started pacing again. "You don't know what it's like living under the Avery name, April! You don't have a clue what people expect from me because of my grandfather and my mother! I'm expected to be the best!"

"You will be the best," April encouraged. "You just have to pay your dues and get through people like Hahn. She's going to make you a better surgeon in the long run, you'll see."

Her rainbows and sunshine mentality made him want to punch something right now. "What would you know about being a better surgeon?" Jackson snapped.

April's spine straightened as this heavy feeling settled in on her. "Careful, Jackson," she warned. She knew Jackson was angry and frustrated. She also knew that it wasn't directed at her. However, April had been in enough arguments with her sisters to know that sometimes things were said in anger that really hurt people and damaged relationships. She had this dark feeling that Jackson was about to say something that was going to mess everything up.

Jackson looked at her, his eyes narrowing. "You can't even perform an appendectomy!" The second the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He hadn't even thought them...they had just come flying out in his rage against his family.

A gasp caught in April's throat and tears instantly sprung to her eyes. She looked to him for a second, then shook her head, closing her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing even registered in her mind to say to him. She pushed herself to her feet and ran from the locker room.

"April!" Jackson called, moving after her. "April, wait!" God, he didn't mean it! He didn't mean what he said! He was upset and angry with the situation, not her! Never her! April was the only good thing in his life, yet...he'd just managed to mess it up. "April!" he called, running for the elevator, but it was too late. His eyes darted to the numbers over the elevator. She was going to the parking garage.

Jackson raced towards the stairs, bursting through the door and running down the stairs as fast as he could. He reached the parking garage just in time to see April's beat up car pull through the exit. "Damnit!" Jackson cursed, putting his hands to his head. He had possibly just ruined things with the one person who meant something to him.

But April meant to much to him. He wasn't going to lose her on top of everything else. He dug in his scrub pants pocket, pulling out his keys and running for his truck.

April cried the entire drive home. She wiped at her eyes stubbornly, hating herself for crying. It was such a _girl_ thing to do. She knew Jackson didn't mean what he said...she knew he didn't, but...it still hurt her. Maybe he was just angry...but what if he really thought that about her, and that's why he could spew it so easily when he was angry? The thought made her cry more for some stupid reason that she couldn't figure out. Why was Jackson's opinion of her so damn important to her?

April went into auto-pilot, parking her car and hurrying into her apartment. She heard squealing tires as she shut the door. She wasn't ready to see Jackson yet. She had to process what he'd said to her, get over it, and then be able to talk to him. She couldn't do that though if he was in her face.

Jackson ran to her door, pounding on it. "April, please!" he begged. "Open the door! We have to talk!"

"You've said enough!" April yelled back, pushing her hair back and clasping her hands on the back of her neck. "We'll talk in the morning!"

Jackson pressed to the door. "No. I want us to fix it now. God, April, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it, I swear, I was just mad!"

April bit her lip, the tears threatening. "We're fine...I'll see you tomorrow." Jackson unclasped his ID tag and worked his criminal magic, opening the door seconds later. "Damnit, stop doing that!" she shrieked at him. "I told you we're fine."

"You're crying," Jackson choked out. "We're not fine." He closed the door, leaning back against it. "April...nothing I say will fix what I've done...but I'm so sorry...I was just mad, and.."

"It's okay," April interrupted, wrapping her arms around herself. "I know you didn't mean it..." She swiped at a betraying tear running down her cheek.

Jackson sighed heavily, crossed the distance, and wrapped his arms around her. She fit perfectly against him. "I'm _so_ sorry," he whispered against her hair, looking down at her. "I didn't mean it, April...God, I'd _never_ hurt you on purpose...you've got to believe me."

April sighed against him, catching a wiff of his intoxicating scent. "I know," she finally whispered, her arms wrapping around his waist. "I was just trying to help..."

"I know, I know," Jackson whispered, closing his eyes. Damnit, he was _such_ an ass. "I'm just so sorry...I'm so, _so_ sorry..." He couldn't say it to her enough.

A silence settled between them as they remained in the embrace for several moments. April composed herself, sniffing her nose and wiping her eyes one final time. She looked up at him, seeing the hurt in his eyes. "We're fine," she whispered.

Jackson looked down at her for several moments, then brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I'm still-"

April cut him off, putting her finger over his lips. "I know," she whispered, "now stop it." She eased away from him slowly, putting a distance between them. She cleared her throat and looked around. "Pizza and a movie?" she offered.

Jackson's whole body relaxed. "Absolutely."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

April and Jackson managed to resume their casual relationship as they ordered a pizza, made up a batch of margaritas, and settled in for their standard movie night. It was as if the dispute from earlier had never happened. They joked and laughed, everything as casual and comfortable as it had always been. Jackson was thankful for it-he couldn't stand knowing he had hurt her.

Jackson stilled when he felt the weight land on his shoulder. His eyes darted over, seeing April settle against him comfortably. She yawned, so he figured he was about to become her pillow.

And he was okay with that. He couldn't explain it, but he was okay with it.

Jackson managed to keep his cool as he watched Vivan transform from street walk to first lady. It was obvious who picked the movie, but hey, he wasn't going to complain at watching Julia Roberts half naked.

Less than thirty minutes later, Jackson looked over after hearing the soft snore. He smiled softly as he saw April sleeping soundly, curved against him as if she'd always done it. It wasn't out of the norm for her, but was just...natural. Jackson carefully retrieved the remote, turning off the DVD player and then the television. "April," he spoke softly, looking over to her. When she didn't stir, he leaned closer to her. "April," he repeated in her ear, brushing her hair off her face and tucking it behind her ear. He chuckled when she swatted at him in her sleep, then brought her hand under her chin, settling in against him again. "Alright, up you go," he laughed, shifting and scooping her up into his arms.

April instinctively turned towards him in his arms, her hand going to his chest and her head fitting perfectly against his shoulder. Jackson nearly dropped her. Not that he was appalled...the exact opposite. He had damn near felt fireworks when her fingers made contact with his chest. He wanted to stand there and hold her, but they had work in the morning.

Jackson eased down her short hallway, turning into her bedroom. He lay her on her bed, then settled at her feet, pulling her shoes off quickly. He pulled the blankets over her, tucking them in around her. He looked down to her for a moment, then checked her alarm. She'd murder him if she was late for rounds the next morning.

Rather than leaving, Jackson lingered for a few minutes, just watching her sleep. She turned on her side, drawing her leg up and tucking her hand under her chin. He was already growing fond of that little quirk of hers. She looked so relaxed and peaceful...unlike her conscious state. At Mercy West she was always jotting notes, double checking her work, and trying to predict every possible bad outcoming. But now...she was just relaxed and stress-free.

In that moment, Jackson realized how _beautiful_ she was.

Jackson stared at her for a few minutes longer before quietly leaving her small apartment. Maybe... maybe he could ask April out. The worst thing that could happen was that she would say no. She was focused on her career, she didn't want to cross the lines of friendship...he knew she'd come up with a polite reason for turning him down. _If_ she even turned him down. Maybe she was feeling the attraction between them as well...maybe she was realizing that there could possibly be some chemistry between them. Really, the only thing that separated them from what they had now was the physical contact. All he had to do was kiss her...and he'd been thinking about doing that for weeks.

Jackson settled in the driver's seat of his truck and hesitated. No, he couldn't ask her out. Not now...not after what happened today. He had blown up at her, said things to her that she didn't deserve to hear, then he had focused on her flaw. What a jackass he had been. He had been the one to encourage her when she'd panicked during the appy, but then...then he turned around and used it against her.

He had truly spoken like his mother in that instance.

Catherine Avery spent most of her time belittling everyone else around her to make herself feel better. Catherine was quick to find a person's weakness and use it against them.

He hated that about his mother. Yet, it seemed he had _become_ her today.

Jackson sighed heavily, hitting the steering wheel in frustration. No, he couldn't ask April out. He had to let time heal the wounds he had caused.

* * *

The next morning, April reached out and slapped at her alarm clock, sitting up and groaning. She looked down and realized that she was still fully dressed. Her brow furrowed as she touched at her blouse. "Oh no," she moaned, the realization finally hitting her. She had fallen asleep last night! She snatched up her cell and sent him a quick text. _Jackson, I'm SO sorry I fell asleep last night! Please forgive me!_

April swung her legs out of bed, grabbing her bathrobe and heading for the shower. After showering, April returned to her room, just in time to see her phone light up. A new text from Jackson. _It's okay. See you soon_. April found herself smiling as she wiggled into a pair of pants and pulled on her _Trust me, I'm a surgeon_ tshirt. It had been a going away gift from her dad after she informed them that she'd be doing her internship at Mercy West in Seattle. She smiled fondly at the thought of her parents. She'd have to give them a call soon.

April moved to her dresser, snatching up her notebook. She froze as her eyes landed on her worn, leather-bound Bible. She chewed her lip and smoothed her fingers over her name etched on the cover. It had been too long since she'd even opened it. April rested her palm on the book and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, inwardly vowing to come home that evening and resume her quiet time.

"Hey, you're here early," Reed greeted when April hurried into the locker room twenty minutes later.

"Yeah, Jackson and I have to review for Hahn today," April sighed, opening her locker and retrieving her scrubs, changing shirts quickly. "He'll be here any minute." She yanked off her jeans and pulled up her scrub pants in lightening speed.

Reed looked to her friend for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek. "Doesn't it bother you being his lackey?" she finally blurted out.

April looked over to her with her eyebrows raised. "Wh-what?"

Reed chewed her lip. "Doesn't it bother you being Jackson's lackey? I mean, you're spending all this extra time helping him look awesome in front of an attending..."

"He's helping me too," April defended quickly. "Once it's my turn in cardiology, I'll be ahead of everyone else."

"Not if Hahn decides she wants Jackson on her services permanently," Reed argued, then looked over her shoulder as the locker room door opened and Jackson came in. "Speak of the devil," she murmured.

Jackson inwardly groaned when he saw Reed. "Good morning, Reed," he spoke pleasantly, forcing himself to smile.

"Ass," Reed deadpanned, brushing past him and leaving the locker room.

Jackson rolled his eyes, moving to the bench and straddling it before he sat down. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry before she gets over it? This is just petty high school shit."

"It won't be much longer," April encouraged. "As soon as she finds someone else to date, she'll forget all about the hot intern who dumped her." She cleared her throat nervously as she looked down to her cardiology book from med school. Stupid, she was so stupid!

A smile threatened the corners of his mouth, but Jackson managed to keep his face straight. He bit his lip for a moment, then looked down to his hands. April had yet to notice that he was carrying _two_ cups of coffee. He felt a bit of anxiety run through his veins as he reached over, setting the cup of coffee down in front of her. "Cream and sugar, just like you like it." He cursed himself-his voice sounded shaky, yet he meant to exert smooth confidence. Too late now.

April quirked her head, looking to the cup of coffee. She moved her eyes up to his. "Y-you bought me coffee?"

Jackson pursed his lips. "Yep," he finally answered, taking a drink from his own cup.

April's eyes went back to the cup. "O-okay...thanks." She smiled softly, wrapping her hand around the cup and bringing it to her lips. "Mmmm," she sighed, looking back to her book. "Have you been practicing the running whip stitch?" she asked, looking to him.

Jackson shook his head. "I've looked it over a hundred times though," he spoke quickly, seeing that look of disapproval cross her features. "Plus, I YouTube'd it."

April raised an eyebrow. "YouTube, Jackson? Seriously? So if you're asked to do a running whip stitch, you're just going to...going to...call in user horny intern o-seven to do it for you?"

Jackson looked to her, then chuckled. "Horny intern o-seven?" he questioned.

"You know what I mean!" April exclaimed, closing her book and swatting him with it. She let out an exasperated sigh and reached into her locker, retrieving her bag. She pulled out a few bananas and a couple of suture kits.

"You _stole_ suture kits?" Jackson teased, raising an eyebrow.

April blushed. "No! I'm an intern, and I need them to practice. An intern is only as good as his skill...and we can't gain skill unless we practice."

Jackson paused, sniffing the air dramatically. "Someone's pants are on fire."

April swatted him again, laughing none of the less. "Here," she spoke as she thrust him a suture kit. She peeled back a portion of the banana peel, then lay it on the bench between them. "Now, do the running whip stitch."

Jackson looked to her for several moments. "You're serious?"

"Of course I'm serious!" April exclaimed. "Rounds start in fifteen minutes! We don't have time to practice on a cadaver. Come on!"

Jackson watched her for a second longer. "You're very strange, April Kepner," he teased.

"You'll thank me when you're impressing your attending," she quipped in return.

Jackson pulled on some gloves then retrieved the thread, scissors, and forceps. He expertly ran the needle through the banana peeling, tieing the thread at the base. "Diagonal, right?" he asked, glancing to April.

"Right," she replied softly, scooting closer so that she could watch him.

Jackson's mouth suddenly went dry at the closeness of April. He could smell her freaking shampoo for crying out loud! He cleared his throat, forcing his attention to the banana. A small part of him wanted to impress her. However... He looked to the banana, fumbling the stitch on purpose.

April bit her lip. "Not...exactly," she said as politely as possible. She cut the thread, snatched it out quickly, and pulled another piece. "Let me help." She stood, moving beside him, putting her hand over his, helping him to guide the needle. "Like that," she encouraged, looking to him.

Jackson looked to her slowly, her face a few inches away from his. He was acutely aware of everything; how her arm was pressed against his, how her hand trembled slightly on top of his, and how she was leaned against him. He licked his lips instinctively, but forced himself to look down. "I think I got it," he said quietly.

April moved away with lightening speed, returning to her seat on the bench, nearly knocking over her coffee in the process. She took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm the fire inside of her. "Y-yeah, you're doing better already," she encouraged, her voice cracking. She looked away, picking up her notebook and fanning herself with it.

Jackson ducked his head, hiding his smile. He wasn't the only one who felt the attraction sizzling between them. "Done," he announced moments later.

April took a drink of her coffee, leaning over and admiring his work. "That's great, Jackson," she smiled.

Jackson gave her a soft smile, then peeled back the banana. "Not like I'll need it. Hahn won't let me anywhere near the OR." He broke the banana in half, offering her the bigger piece.

April took the banana, taking a small bite. "Only a few more days," she reminded him, reaching over and patting his knee gently.

Jackson nodded, glancing to her hand, then gathered up the peel and suture kit discards. "We'd better get to Arnolds. Don't need him punishing _us_ with rectals today."

"I'm the one who will be punished," April chuckled, gathering her coffee. "You're the one who's been requested," she teased as they left the locker room.

* * *

The next night, Jackson rolled his shoulders as he headed towards the locker room. He was ready to get out of this hospital, get a hot shower, and get to Joe's for a couple of drinks. His taut muscles desperately needed the release of alcohol.

"Avery," Hahn barked from the nurse's station.

"Shit," Jackson spat, jerking. She was _always _sneaking up on him...just like satan. "Yes, Dr. Hahn?" he asked as politely as he could muster.

Dr. Hahn gave him a slow smile as she clutched a chart to her chest. "Were you going home?"

"Yeah," Jackson replied, gritting his teeth. "My shift is over, so..."

"Oh, well okay," Dr. Hahn replied. "I just had this aortic tear come through the pit...thought you might want in on it..." She shrugged. "I guess not." She turned towards the elevator.

"W-wait!" Jackson called, following after her. "Are you serious?"

Dr. Hahn raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a jokester, Avery."

"You know what I mean," Jackson frowned. "You're not going to tease me with this, then stick me in the damn gallery, are you?"

Dr. Hahn laughed softly. "No, you're in the OR. Go scrub in."

Jackson waited until she had entered the elevator before doing a fist pump. "Yes!" he exclaimed, then ran towards the OR.

* * *

April sighed to herself as she changed from her scrubs into her jeans and tshirt. It had been an exhausting two days. On the plus side, she was getting more ortho experience. She was actually allowed to make the cut before the attending removed the man's leg. If she played her cards right, she might have a specialty by the end of her first year of internship.

"Hey," Reed called as she poked her head in the locker room. "Charles and I are going to Joe's. You wanna come?"

"Not tonight," April answered, sighing heavily. "I'm exhausted. Rain check?"

"Sure," Reed smiled. "See you later."

April pulled her bag out, stuffing her notebook into her bag, along with her cardiology book. During her haste, she knocked something over, barely able to catch the empty coffee cup that was tumbling from her locker. She looked to it, smiling softly. It was the cup Jackson had given her. She twirled it in her hand, then stuffed it in her bag quickly.

An hour later April was putting a turkey casserole into the oven, glancing to her phone for the tenth time. She hadn't heard from Jackson all day today. She actually hadn't even _seen_ him since the day before when he gave her coffee.

Chewing her lip, April quietly moved to the bag, retrieving the treasured cup. She knew it was a stupid, high school girl thing to do, but...she was going to keep the cup. Jackson had done something nice for her...he even had it flavored perfectly, which meant he had paid attention to her.

April sighed happily and went into her bedroom, placing the coffee cup on her beside table.

Beside the pen Jackson had loaned her two weeks earlier.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Jackson was barely able to keep his feet to the OR floor as he watched in wonder. He had an up-front view of surgery. Finally! Just as April had told him-he'd paid his dues, and it was well worth the wait. He felt like a druggie getting the perfect hit of his chosen drug. Surgery was a freaking rush!

"You alright over there, Avery?" Dr. Hahn asked, breaking into his euphoria.

"Yeah," Jackson replied, his eyes never leaving the table. "This is...amazing. That's an actual heart! And you're repairing it...you're touching a heart!" He pursed his lips. She was going to hate him even more. "Sorry," he muttered, praying she didn't throw him out of her OR.

Dr. Hahn chuckled quietly to herself. "Are you familiar with the running whip stitch, Dr. Avery?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"Yes," Jackson replied, watching her work her magic inside the man's chest cavity. "A fellow intern, Dr. Kepner, and I have been practicing."

"How did you practice?" Dr. Hahn asked curiously, glancing up at him again.

Jackson felt the wave of embarassment wash through him. "We practiced on a banana," he replied quietly. He felt about as stupid now as he did his sophomore year in sex ed when he tried to put the condom on the banana, but the condom decided to fly across the room instead.

"A banana," Dr. Hahn mused. "Good choice, Dr. Avery."

Jackson studied her for a moment, wondering if she was patronizing him. She probably was, but he managed to keep his mouth shut so that he could stay at the table for the duration of the surgery. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking up as Dr. Hahn's hands paused in her symphony of stitches.

"The last thing I have to do before closing this patient is the running whip stitch on his heart." Dr. Hahn spoke the words slowly, looking to him. "Would you like to give it a go, Dr. Avery?" Her move was completely unorthodox because several of the scrub nurses began whispering amongst themselves.

Jackson's mouth dropped behind his scrub mask. "Y-yes, Dr. Hahn, I'd be honored." He looked to the surgical technician. "Forceps," he stated, extending his hand. "Scissors."

Dr. Hahn let out a shallow breath as she studied the intern, hoping he didn't screw this up. She'd already heard how his colleague, Dr. Kepner, flubbed the appendectomy weeks earlier. "Very good, Dr. Avery," she spoke, watching him begin the stitch slowly, but with efficiency. His moves became more comfortable as he continued, and within minutes he was finished and looking to her expectantly. "Close him up."

Jackson felt a surge of elation as he stitched the flesh back together easily. "Thank you for the opportunity, Dr. Hahn," he told her as they left the OR to wash up.

Dr. Hahn didn't speak until she was drying off her hands. "You're nothing like your mother, Avery," she told him, taking a few steps back. "Keep up the good work."

Jackson watched her leave, stunned. So, she hadn't been putting him through hell for the fun of it. She had simply been testing him to see if he'd cry like a bitch or rise to the occasion. Dr. Hahn had just given him the _best_ compliment he would ever receive. He was _not_ like his mother. He didn't toss around his last name so that everyone in a hundred mile radius would kiss his ass. He didn't use people for what he could get out of them and then toss them aside like yesterday's garbage. He sighed with relief, then jogged to the locker room.

Once changing into his street clothes, Jackson dug out his cellphone and called April immediately.

April jarred as her cell rang. She frowned, wishing she had put it on silent. April stretched across her open Bible and retrieved her phone. It was Jackson. April hesitated, glancing to her Bible, then back to her phone. She _had_ been going through Genesis for the past hour...a little break wouldn't hurt... April dropped her pen into the open pages and answered her phone. "Jackson, what's up?" she asked, glancing to her watch. It was almost midnight.

"Hahn let me do a running whip stitch!" Jackson exclaimed, nearly yelling into the phone. "She actually let me do it, April! Me! I did the running whip stitch on a heart!"

"Oh my gosh!" April exclaimed. "Jackson, that's amazing! What did it feel like?!"

"It was...it was awesome," Jackson gushed. "There's no other way to describe it...I'm so rushing right now!" He moved through the hospital, stopping outside the elevator. "There's no way I can come down off this high right now...you wanna meet me at Joe's?"

April glanced to her open book again and bit her lip. "Yeah, I'll meet you there," she answered before hanging up. A small part of her felt guilty, but she knew that God would understand. It wasn't like she was running out on Him, she was simply meeting up with her friend to celebrate. Plus, she'd spent an hour in the Word.

April forced the feelings of guilt from her mind as she put her Bible and notebook back on her dresser. She dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of jeans and an oversized tshirt. She pulled her hair into a sloppy ponytail and headed out.

Minutes later Jackson spotted April as soon as she pulled up. He jogged over to her, picking her up as soon as she got out of the car and swinging her around. "I stitched up a heart today!" he exclaimed.

"Jackson, put me down!" April laughed, glad to see him so happy. Two weeks ago Jackson had been sure he'd entered an earthly hell, but now he saw that it was worth it. "I'm so proud of you," she smiled once she was safely on her feet. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you," Jackson spoke as he held her an extra moment, then released her. "You talked me down when I was furious...you helped me study...and you made me practice on that stupid banana." His grin widened. "Drinks on me tonight!"

April managed to lock her car before Jackson dragged her towards the bar. "Are you ever going to come back to earth?" she teased as they took a seat on a barstool.

"Two beers," Jackson told Joe, then looked over to her. "I don't think so," he laughed. "It was just...I was actually _in_ there. She didn't have me in the gallery or anything. I was right across from her. I saw the heart _beat_ while she was operating!" He paused, his mind flitting back to the surgery. "It was...wow...just, wow..."

April smiled for him. "I'm _so_ happy for you!"

Jackson quirked his head, studying her for a moment. "I can tell you really mean it," he finally stated.

"Of course I mean it," April replied. "You deserve it." She took a drink of her beer and looked over to him. "What will you do if Hahn wants you on her services permanently?"

Jackson opened his mouth to answer, glancing to the door as the little bell dinged over it. His gaze lingered on a blonde woman who entered with a group of people. He was guessing they were interns based on their light blue scrubs. "I dunno...I think she likes me well enough..." He considered telling April the whole Hahn vs. Avery history, but he decided not to drag her through his family mudpit. "I guess I'll worry about that when it gets here."

"Are you even into cardiology?" April asked, following his gaze to the woman who caught Jackson's attention. She was the obviously beautiful type-tall, blonde hair, big boobs, and full lips. She looked like a model. April shifted on the barstool wishing she hadn't dressed so casually. She pulled down her ponytail and ran her fingers through her hair.

Jackson finished off his beer and ordered another one. "Cardiology is my second choice...plastics was my first..."

"_Plastics_?" April interrupted. "You're going into _plastics_?"

"What's wrong with plastics?" Jackson frowned.

April raised an eyebrow. "Breast implants and nosejobs? Really, Jackson?"

"What about burn victims?" Jackson snapped back. "Plastics is the only hope for them." His frown deepened when April rolled her eyes. "Plastics is artistic," he continued, taking a drink of his beer again.

April opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. "Hmmm. I never thought of it like that," she admitted sheepishly.

Jackson's mouth tugged up in a smirk and he knudged her with his shoulder. "No harm," he replied. "I _thought_ I wanted to do plastics, but seeing that heart today..._touching_ that heart today..."

"You're strung out on cardio," April teased.

"Totally," Jackson replied, glancing over when the blonde woman approached the bar. He caught her gaze and watched her flash him a smile before she went back to her table with a few bottles of beer.

April bit her lip, ducking her head and staring at the bar counter top. "M-maybe you should go talk to her..." She tried to sound bright and uplifting, but failed miserably.

"Talk to who?" Jackson asked, looking back to her expectantly.

April gave him a look. "The blonde woman you've oggled since she walked in?"

Jackson snorted, taking a drink of his beer. "I haven't oggled her," he replied lamely.

"Yeah, okay," April replied, looking down again. "Go on, Jackson...I'll hang here."

Jackson studied April a minute. If she was encouraging him, then...he had obviously judged everything completely wrong between them. They were just friends. And only friends. "Sure, why not," he finally said and slid off the barstool.

April chewed her lip, glancing over her shoulder as she watched him move through the bar. "Joe?" she called, catching his attention. "Can I get a rum and coke?"

"Rum and coke?" another voice spoke up. "That's not usually the drink of a lady."

April looked over, seeing a man with brown hair sit down next to her, taking Jackson's seat. "Oh really?" she asked, quirking her head. "And just what is a lady supposed to drink?"

The man looked back to her, a smile tugging at his lips. "Cosmopolitans or something, right?" he asked, outright smiling now.

April found herself smiling as Joe slid her the drink. "In case you haven't noticed, this isn't _Sex and the City_." She liked this man-he had a boyish charm about him.

The man looked around. "So, you're telling me this isn't New York?"

April smirked. "Wrong side of the country."

"Dang," the man frowned. "I guess I'll just have to drink what the beautiful women of Seattle order. Hey Joe," he called, leaning over the bar. "Rum and coke." He looked back to April, seeing a faint blush rise in her cheeks. "I'm Matthew," he introduced himself, extending his hand.

April chewed her lip, looking to his hand for a second, then looking to his eyes. They were that deep shade of brown that she loved in men. "I'm April," she conceded, taking his hand.

Matthew held her hand a few seconds longer than necessary before releasing it. "So what calls for a rum and coke, April?"

April blew her bangs out of her hair. "It's been a rough couple of weeks," she confessed.

Matthew nodded as if understanding completely. "It doesn't have anything to do with your friend over there bailing on you, does it?"

April made a face. "E-excuse me?"

Matthew bit his lip. "I was just wondering..."

"That's none of your business..." For some reason, April felt this anger rising up in her, and she had no idea where it was coming from. She stood abruptly, turning to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute," Matthew called, catching her arm. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I guess I was just trying to figure out if you and that guy were together...I blew it...I'm sorry..."

April looked down to his fingers wrapped around her elbow, then back to his eyes. He seemed genuine. "No, we're not together," she answered quietly. "Why?"

Matthew looked down. "Because I haven't been able to keep my eyes off of you since you came in half an hour ago."

April bit her lip, feeling the blush rise in her cheeks. "Oh," she said softly, returning to her barstool and wrapping her hand around her glass again. She took a big drink and looked over at him. "Th-thank you, Matthew."

Matthew smiled with relief, feeling that he had dodged a bullet. "So..." he spoke when a silence settled in. "Where do you work, April?"

April looked over to him, smiling at his attempted small talk. "I'm an intern at Mercy West."

"Wow," Matthew breathed, his eyebrows raising. "You're a doctor?"

"Surgeon," April clarified. "Well, not even really that yet...I just started a few weeks ago."

"That's really neat," Matthew grinned. "I'm finishing up my last year for paramedic certification."

"Really?" April asked. "Wow, that's pretty awesome."

Matthew shrugged. "Not near as awesome as being a surgeon."

April took another drink of her rum and coke, glancing over to him. "Maybe...maybe we'll run into each other some time."

Matthew nodded. "Maybe so..." His gaze lingered on her. "So, I guess you're really busy...being an intern and all, huh?"

April nodded. "Yeah, we work a lot...we have a lot to learn." She bit her lip, glancing over at him. "But...we do get the occasional day off..."

"Oh yeah?" Matthew asked, smiling. "Maybe on one of your days off...if you aren't already busy...maybe we could..."

Jackson had been lingering several feet away from April and her obvious suitor, but he was close enough that he could hear everything that was taking place. The blonde shot him down quite quickly-some lame excuse about a hockey player boyfriend who lived out of town. "Hey, pal, you're in my seat," he spoke up before the guy could finish the sentence. He knew where this was going, and he wasn't too fond of the idea of April dating this goofball.

"Oh, sorry," Matthew spoke up, standing abruptly. He met Jackson's eyes, then looked back to April. "Maybe we'll meet up again soon, April."

"Yeah, I hope so," April smiled. Matthew looked at her a second longer before paying his tab and leaving. April looked over to Jackson. "How'd it go?"

Jackson shrugged. "She's got a boyfriend." He glanced around the bar. "Dartboard's open."

April finished her drink and slid from the bar. Her mind roamed to Matthew. She hoped she'd see him again soon.

**A/N - I'm very excited about weaving this entire tale of Jackson and April! Hang onto your seats, cause it's going to be a great ride! Especially once they get to Seattle Grace and things like the shooting come into play ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"I don't know!" April wailed a week later. She put her head in her hands. "Just leave me alone!"

"You're not going to be ready for Hahn if you don't know this stuff!" Jackson retorted. "I'm telling you, April, she's tough! And she really hates interns who don't know anything." He reached over and patted her knee. "I'm just trying to help you." He ducked his head, looking to her. "You know that, right?"

"I hate cardio!" April exclaimed, pulling her face from her hands. "I don't want to do cardio!"

"Cardio is awesome," Jackson grinned. "Sorry," he apologized after April gave him a look. "Where are your index cards?"

"I'm not telling," April replied, sliding off her bed and stuffing her feet into her shoes. "Let's go to Joe's."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "We're not going to Joe's. You need to study."

"I can't study!" April shrieked. "I feel like my brain is going to explode, okay?! If you ask me one more cardio question, you'll have to start _my_ heart!"

Jackson laughed at her theatrics. It was obvious cardio wasn't her thing. He just hoped Hahn didn't eat her for lunch. "Alright, April, you win. We'll go to Joe's."

"Thank you!" April exclaimed happily, grabbing his arm and pulling him off the bed. "You know," she thought aloud as they grabbed their coats, "if you'd just pick cardio as your speciality, I wouldn't have to be tortured by Hahn."

"I'm keeping my options open," Jackson smirked.

"And you call yourself my friend," April teased, locking up her apartment. "I'm really enjoying General though," she spoke as they moved down the stairs.

"Really?" Jackson asked, frowning. "Even after what happened with that appendectomy?"

"Yeah," April nodded. "I know it's crazy, but...I've been trying to conquor my fear since then, and...well, I'm really enjoying it."

"There are more organs you can do surgeries on in that field," Jackson admitted, then stopped walking, shaking his head abruptly. "Let's stop talking about work."

"Okay," April smiled. "As of now, this is a no surgery zone."

"Good," Jackson replied, then hesitated as he and April climbed into his truck. He started to turn the key in the ignition, but looked over to her instead. "Have you heard anything from that Matt guy?" he asked quietly.

"You mean Matthew?" April asked, looking over to Jackson.

Jackson rolled his eyes briefly. "Yeah, Matthew." He looked down, then back to her.

"No," April replied, shaking her head. "He didn't take my number or anything, so..." She sort of let the sentence hang. "Why?"

Jackson looked to her, hesitating. Could he possibly tell her that he'd been thinking of her in ways other than friendship? That he wondered what it would be like to kiss her? That he found some of her anal traits freaking adorable? "No reason," he finally sighed. "I was just wondering."

"O...kay," April replied unsurely, watching him turn the key in the ignition. "Jackson, are you feeling okay?"

Jackson shook his head. "I just think I'm tired," he lied as he backed out of her apartment complex. "That, and I need to get laid," he chuckled, shifting his truck into drive.

April worked up a polite laugh, but looked down to her hands. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks.

Jackson glanced to her several times, noting her quietness and the color in her cheeks. "April?" he asked, as they pulled to a stop light. "Is something bothering you?"

"I'm a virgin," April blurted out.

Jackson's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?" He watched her nod. "Wow," he mused, shocked by her confession. "Really?"

"Yes, really!" April snapped. "Not every woman is a slut, Jackson!"

"I'm not implying that you're a slut!" Jackson snipped, frustration running through him. "I'm just surprised that no guy has..." He stopped talking, realizing that however he finished that sentence was going to imply that no one _wanted_ to sleep with April.

"It's my fault," April spoke up softly. "I was raised in church, so I went through that annoying stage where everything was evil, but then...I realized that we're stuck in this world, you know? We're stuck _in_ sin on a daily basis...there's no way around it, we're _going_ to sin...not that I condone it...but..." She sighed, shaking her head. "Anyway, then, I wanted the perfect guy to come along, and...it just..."

"Hasn't happened yet," Jackson finished.

"Yeah," April replied quietly, looking over at him. "You...you understand what I'm getting at?"

"I do," Jackson spoke quietly, reaching over and patting her on the shoulder. He let a few minutes of silence settle between them. "What about soldiers?" he finally spoke as they pulled into the parking lot.

April gave him a confused expression. "What...about soldiers?" she asked unsurely.

"They go into war _knowing_ that they're probably going to kill someone," Jackson replied, putting his truck into park and shifting to look at her. "They're planning sin...so who cares if you have sex outside of marriage? There's worse things you could do."

April smiled softly, feeling ever grateful that Jackson understood a small part of her now. "Thank you, Jackson." She took his hand, squeezing it gently.

Jackson looked down, watching her pale skin move across his darker hand. He looked back to her. "Come on, let's get our drink on."

* * *

Jackson and April had been at Joe's for about an hour. Jackson had introduced her to the White Russian, and April seemed fond of it. She was relaxed and getting slightly tipsy, which made her even more adorable. "This is _so_ what we needed!" April exclaimed after bottoming out her second drink.

Jackson chuckled as he slowly worked on his third beer. "A night avoiding cardio?" he teased.

"No!" April laughed, coming over and leaning against him. "A night of just you and me."

Jackson studied her for a moment. "We're always together," he replied seriously. "It's _always_ you and me, April."

"Yeah, I know," April sighed, hanging her head.

"What is it?" Jackson asked, tilting her chin up with his index finger.

"I can't tell you," April shook her head, easing away from him. "It would mess everything up."

Jackson felt his heart pick up rhythm, starting to pound in his chest. This was it. "You can tell me anything; you know that."

April hesitated, looking to him. "I can't," she replied, taking a step back. "You're the one person I can't tell this to..."

Jackson looked down for a minute. He had heard that line enough to know _exactly_ what she meant. This thing with April...it wasn't all one-sided. It wasn't just on him. She obviously felt something for him as well. "Okay, April," he nodded, retrieving her empty glass. "I'll get you another drink. Don't lose our dartboard."

"Okay!" April exclaimed loudly, moving to the dartboard and retrieving her darts.

Jackson cast a glance over to her before taking the glass over to Joe. "Another round, Joe," he called.

"You sure, Avery?" Joe asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think one more will knock her on her ass."

"I'm here to take care of her," Jackson replied defensively.

Joe raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"

Jackson frowned deeply. "Not that way, Joe!" he exclaimed, then lowered his voice. "Look...I think tonight...April is finally going to tell me...you know?"

"Well, it's about time," Joe sighed. "I've been watching you two dance around each other since you came to Seattle."

Jackson smiled as he ran his hand over his head. "I'm still nervous," he confessed as he watched Joe pour April another drink.

"Don't be," Joe assured him. "She's into you, Avery." He passed Jackson another beer as he spoke.

"Thanks," Jackson grinned, retrieving their drinks. He turned and saw April fling a dart, missing the board completely. He chuckled as he carried her drink over to her. "Are you trying to attack someone just so you can suture them up?" he teased.

"No!" April exclaimed. "My aim just really sucks tonight!" She laughed and took the drink. "I think I'm going to take a break from darts." She passed the remaining darts into his hand, and dropped into a chair.

Jackson returned the darts to the board and sat across from her instead. "April, I need to talk to you," he said seriously, looking to her.

Despite her enlightened state, April knew something was different in his tone. "What is it?" she asked, looking to him seriously. "Is something wrong?"

"No, well, yeah," Jackson blurted, looking down. "There's been something going on...and I thought it was just me, but..."

April took a slow drink of her white russian, feeling a heat flow through her. Jackson was going to tell her that he had noticed something different between them...she must have made it obvious that she had a little crush on him. "Do I want to hear this?" she interrupted him, clanging her glass onto the table accidentally.

Jackson smiled at her softly. "You do," he nodded, taking her hand gently. "I- shit!" he exclaimed as his cell rang. He fished it out of his pocket. "It's mom," he apologized, groaning. "She won't stop calling until I answer...I'll be right back."

April watched him hurry outside, taking the call with much aggravation. She felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Part of her hated Jackson's mother for calling and interrupting whatever he was about to tell her. But maybe she needed this time to work up what she was going to say. If Jackson gave her the _we don't need to ruin our friendship_ line, then she had to be prepared to respond. But...if he actually liked her in return...she needed to get her thoughts together so that she didn't sound like some love-struck teenager. April jarred from her racing thoughts and looked up when a shadow fell over the table. "Matthew, hey," she greeted.

"Hey, April," Matthew greeted. "I wanted to speak to you earlier, but...you were with your friend..." He looked around uncomfortably. "How are you?"

"I'm good," April replied and smiled softly. "I think I'm going to rotate to cardio next week...I'm not looking forward to that." She sighed heavily and took another drink of her drink. "How's your paramedic classes?"

"Good, they're good," Matthew replied, glancing around the bar again. "You play pool?" he asked, watching as a group left the table.

"Nope," April replied and shook her head. "No one ever really taught me."

"I could teach you," Matthew offered. "I'm sure your surgeon hands can handle a pool stick easily."

April glanced to the door, seeing Jackson still outside talking. "Sure, okay," she agreed, standing. She swayed slightly. "One game though; Jackson has to tell me something."

"No problem," Matthew smiled, putting his hand on her arm as they moved to the table.

"Okay," Jackson sighed, pacing back and forth outside the bar. "Okay, mom, sure. Whatever! Yeah, I love you too. Talk to you soon." He hung up the phone quickly before she could stall him any longer. Jackson wasn't positive, but he believed he had just agreed to hand out an award for the Harper-Avery foundation. He'd sell his kidney if it meant getting his mother off the phone! He had important things to discuss with April.

Jackson moved back inside, instantly observing that April wasn't sitting at the table. He scanned the bar quickly, seeing her at the pool table with...Matthew. Jackson sighed heavily, nearly collapsing into an empty chair nearby. Why did he have to show up _now_?!

"Hey, Jackson, good to see you," Charles greeted as he and Reed approached him. "Where have you been hiding lately?"

"I've been studying," Jackson blew him off, his eyes glued on April and Matthew. They seemed to be getting pretty cosy at the pool table.

Reed followed his gaze, then sat behind him at the table. "That guy horned in on her as soon as you left," she instigated. "He must have been watching and just...waiting for you to leave."

Jackson glared at her over his shoulder. "Knock it off," he snapped.

"I think she likes him," Reed continued.

"Ignore her, she's drunk," Charles interceded. He glanced over to the pool table, seeing the guy practically standing on top of April as he leaned over her, guiding her hands on a pool stick. April laughed and swayed, obviously having had too much to drink herself. "Can I get you something?" Charles asked, looking back to Jackson.

"Scotch, double," Jackson spat, leaning back in the chair. This _wasn't_ happening. He downed the drink quickly when Charles brought it back to him, then stood and straightened his tshirt. He wasn't going to let this lame paramedic step in and get his girl. It wasn't going to happen.

"Whoah, what are you doing?" Charles asked, alarmed.

"I'm going to talk to April," Jackson snapped.

"Don't," Charles advised, catching his arm. "Don't be the jealous asshole who starts a bar fight. Just wait for him to leave, alright?"

"Fine," Jackson snapped, snatching his arm back. He didn't want April thinking poorly of him. "Another scotch."

Three more glasses later, Matthew was still at the table with April, and Jackson was fuming. He was also quite drunk. Charles had his hands full keeping him from going over to the table and knocking Matthew's block off. He really wanted to beat the man within an inch of his life.

"You know, you're really hot when you're all worked up," a drunken Reed cooed, leaning across the table and stroking his arm. She nearly tipped out of the chair and laughed hysterically.

Jackson started to snatch his arm back, but stopped. If April didn't care enough about him to blow off that Matt guy, fine. He didn't care either. Jackson's head was swimming as he moved to his feet. The scotch was definitely taking over.

"You're going?" Reed asked, managing to stumble to her feet.

Jackson caught her as she nearly fell again, and pulled her against him, pressing his mouth to hers in a hot, passionate, but somewhat sloppy kiss. He knew Reed was up for it, and it was what he needed. April was occupied anyway. "Wanna get out of here?" he breathed after they parted.

"Hell yeah," Reed slurred back, taking his hand and tripping out of the door.

* * *

"See," Matthew smiled as April sank a ball. "I knew you'd catch on quick." He smoothed his fingers over her hands as he pulled away.

"You're a good teacher," April grinned, spinning and looking at him. Matthew looked at her for a moment, then pushed some hair away from her eyes. He leaned in slowly, keeping his gaze locked with hers. "Wait, wait," April said, turning her face. "I c-can't...I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," Matthew said, holding his hands up. "It's.."

"Jackson," April finished. "He's going...I think...we're trying..." She sighed. "I want to see where it goes with him."

"Gotcha," Matthew said, taking a step back. "If it doesn't work out..." He snatched up a napkin from a under his bottle of beer and scribbled his number onto it, "give me a call." He passed her the napkin.

"I will," April smiled, her head finally clearing. "Thank you for understanding."

"No problem," Matthew smiled, taking another step back. "I-I'll see you later..."

April gave him a little wave and searched the bar for Jackson. _Where was he_? She circled the room, unable to find him. He wasn't outside either. "Hey, Charles," she greeted, spotting the man trying to avoid her. "I know you're still mad at me, but...put that aside for a second. Have you seen Jackson?"

Charles looked to her smugly. Revenge was sweet. "Yeah, he left a little while ago with Reed..." He took a slow drink of his beer. "They're gonna...you know..."

April felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Her buzz ended quickly as the realization of Charles' words hit her like a Mac truck. Jackson...Reed... Her eyes filled with tears, and she ran from the bar. She wasn't even sure how she was going to get home; she just had to get out of there.

* * *

Jackson awoke groggily the next morning. His head hurt as soon as he sat up. Reed stirred beside him, causing the night before to come flooding to the front of his mind. Groaning, Jackson climbed from her bed and started pulling his clothes on quietly. "Get up, Reed," he called, shaking her awake. "We've got rounds in an hour." Jackson reached in his jeans pocket as he quietly left her bedroom. April had called him three times. "You up?" he called as he moved to her front door.

"Yeah," Reed called back weakly. "See you at rounds."

Thank God. She wasn't going to be _that_ girl. She knew what last night was. No picket fences, no wedding bells, no kids. Sex, pure and simple.

Jackson called April's phone eight times with no answer. She was obviously _very_ angry with him for deserting her last night. He definitely had some sucking up to do.

After running home and showering quickly, Jackson raced to the hospital, hoping to catch April before rounds. She wasn't in the locker room, and she wasn't in the cafeteria eating a quick breakfast. She wasn't even in an on-call room studying. Puzzled, Jackson changed into his scrubs and lab coat, and went to the cafeteria, getting her a cappuccino and a danish.

Once returning to the locker room, Jackson noticed that April _still_ wasn't there. God, what if she didn't make it home last night?! What if something had happened to her?! Panic settled into his core as Dr. Arnolds entered the locker room, beginning to hand out assignments for the day. "Dr. Arnolds," Jackson interrupted boldly, "Dr. Kepner is not here."

Dr. Arnolds looked to him, annoyance clearly on his face. "I'm aware, Dr. Avery."

He then spoke the words that made Jackson's world stop.

"Dr. Kepner has transferred to Seattle Grace."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

April collapsed onto her couch seconds after walking into her apartment. It had been a long twenty-four hours.

The longest, hardest, saddest twenty-four hours of her life.

After finding out Jackson was sleeping with Reed, April's feet immediately took her to Seattle Grace. She literally just walked in. She was functioning on auto-pilot, and she knew that she had to get away from Mercy West. She couldn't be any closer to Jackson. Hearing that he was with another woman made her realize how much he had gotten to her. He had gotten under her skin, and she needed him like she needed her next breath.

But now to breathe on her own, she needed _away_ from him. She couldn't be in such close proximity to him. Not now. She'd probably burst into tears every time she saw him.

God must have been smiling on her, because there was a huge pile up that was causing pandemonium in the Seattle Grace ER. Every surgeon, resident, and intern was filling the place, including the chief of surgery. When things calmed down, April was able to speak to him about a possible transfer. Luckily for her, an intern had just dropped from the program days earlier, and there was an opening. Chief Richard Webber appreciated her taking the initiative to seek him out, so he hired her on the spot. He also warned her that he would be getting information from her previous instructors and her resident from Mercy West, and if anything came back shady, she'd be skidding out on the street.

Seattle Grace was nothing like Mercy West. Everything was more at Seattle Grace-more trauma, more action, more competitions. The interns there were fighting for surgeries and constantly studying. It was a race of its own.

April just hoped this new earthquake to her life would get Jackson Avery out of her mind.

* * *

Jackson stumbled through his day, barely aware of anything other than April was not there. April was no longer in Mercy West. She wasn't even _in_ the hospital! Even if he didn't see her, he knew she was there somewhere, probably being her adorably anal self, but no. She wasn't even there! She was across the city at another freaking hospital.

Jackson didn't register anything else but that fact. April wasn't there. He felt empty for the first time since coming to Seattle.

"You okay, man?" Charles asked that day at lunch as he and Reed joined Jackson; not that Jackson was eating. He sat there with a tray of food in front of him, but his arms were crossed and he was staring across the cafeteria.

"I'm fine," Jackson replied in a monotone voice. He looked over to the other interns. "Did April...say anything? Did either of you talk to her?"

"No," Reed replied quietly, checking her phone. "I considered us friends, but...she didn't tell me anything."

"Probably cause you were the problem," Charles snorted.

"What are you talking about?" Jackson asked, zoning his gaze in on the man.

Charles took a bite of his sandwich and a drink of his cola before continuing. "Last night April comes up to me at Joe's. She was looking for you," he motioned to Jackson then. "I told her that you two had left..."

"You did _what_?!" Jackson demanded, glaring at him.

"I told her you left with Reed," Charles replied, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know it was a secret."

"Shit," Jackson cursed, putting his head in his hands. There it was. April had found out about him and Reed, and...that was it. She was probably pissed at him, and didn't want to even look at him. She probably hated him. April was a good person with high standards and morals, and she'd_ just _confessed to being a virgin. And what does he do? He goes off and sleeps with the trampy intern. "Thanks," Jackson mumbled, retrieving his tray and leaving the cafeteria.

Jackson threw himself into his work for the day, forcing himself to stay focused on whatever tragedies came in. He forced himself to _not_ check the clock every few minutes. If he'd just make it through today, he'd call April and explain.

Not that she'd answer the phone, obviously. He had called her ten times with no answer. But, she was at work as well, so she was probably just busy. Yes, that was it. Jackson refused to let his mind take root that she was ignoring him. April was his friend-she'd never ignore him.

Later that evening after changing out of his scrubs and into his street clothes, Jackson pulled out his cell and dialed April. It rang twice, and then he got the message about her being unable to come to the phone. Jackson pulled his cell away from his ear and glared at it. She pressed ignore. She freaking pressed _ignore. _She saw that he was calling, and she pressed ignore!

A rage ran through Jackson quickly. It was one thing when he thought April was just busy, but to know that she was purposely ignoring him?! Why?! What business was it of hers who he slept with! They were just friends! Nothing had happened between them! And besides, if she hadn't been drooling over that stupid paramedic, then maybe Jackson could have told her what was on his mind last night.

OK, she wasn't drooling, but still! She could have told him to go away! She didn't have to spend so much time with him!

Jackson stormed from the hospital, one thing on his mind. If April wouldn't answer the phone, then she better get ready to answer the door!

* * *

April settled on her couch with a bowl of chicken alfredo and her favorite blanket. She was showered, in pajamas, and decided on the movie _The Bridges of Madison County. _She was totally feeling the need for a chick flick. The affair aside, the love story between those two was definitely tear-worthy.

April felt the tears well in her eyes as the movie started rolling. It was stupid for her to cry over someone who wasn't even her boyfriend. She and Jackson were simply friends-she was the one who crossed the boundary and developed a stupid crush on him. Jackson was never going to see her as more than a friend. She wasn't the type of woman who attracted someone as amazing as Jackson.

But...the one thing she couldn't let go of was what Jackson wanted to talk to her about the night before. He had seemed quite serious, and a small part of her hoped he was going to confess to caring for her as well.

Ha, yeah right.

April shook the thoughts of him from her mind. Jackson wasn't a part of her life any longer. It was best she accept that and move on. She took a big bite of the carbs and pressed play.

Ten minutes into the movie, April's phone rang. She glanced to it, seeing that it was Jackson _again_. She wasn't ready to deal with him yet, so she simply pressed ignore and waited, holding her breath. No voicemail. Good.

Twenty minutes later, April paused the movie and quirked her head. Had...she heard something? She could have sworn that she'd heard something... Maybe it was just her noisy neighbors. Just as her finger lingered on the 'Play' button, she heard something thundering up the stairs. Her blood ran cold as she knew immediately that it was Jackson. She scrambled off the couch, anxiety running through her as a heavy knock landed on her door. "I'm not up for this, Jackson!" she yelled, running her hands through her hair.

"You're going to talk to me!" he yelled back, his anger evident.

"We'll talk about it later!" April wrapped her arms around herself as she heard the card slip through the door. She smiled with satisfaction when Jackson met the resistance of the chain she'd had installed earlier in the day.

Jackson smirked in spite of himself. "Nice try," he called before expertly reaching his fingers through the crack of the door and working his magic.

"Were you a thief in another life?!" April exclaimed, watching him work the chain free and enter the apartment.

Jackson closed the door quietly, and they stared at each other. All of Jackson's built up anger faded away. He looked to April, realizing that he was actually _in love_ with this woman. He could never be angry with her.

They continued to stare at each other as quiet minutes ticked by.

April looked pale with red, swollen eyes. It was obvious she had been crying. _A lot_.

Jackson had dark circles under his eyes with a defeated look filling his depths. "You transferred?" he finally spoke, his voice cracking.

April nodded, looking anywhere but at his eyes. "Yeah," she replied softly, wrapping her arms around herself again.

"Look at me."

April hesitated, then looked to him, seeing how upset he was. The pain was evident. Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked several times. "Seattle Grace was my first choice anyway," she lied weakly.

Jackson nodded, pursing his lips. "You didn't even tell me..." He took a step closer to her as he spoke.

"It happened quickly," April replied, taking a step back. She cleared her throat, looking down to the floor. "Hey, at least I won't be holding you back now." She tried to make light of the situation, but failed miserably.

"You never held me back," Jackson replied, keeping his gaze fixed on her.

April took a breath, stepping back again. She felt that strangling presence of him and needed to _breathe_. "We'll keep in contact," she forced a lightness to her voice.

"Why did you leave, April?" he ignored the smalltalk.

April looked away again. "Seattle Grace had on opening..."

"That's not why you left," Jackson cut her off. "Tell me why you left."

April looked to the floor, then back to him, meeting his gaze finally. "Tell me what you were going to tell me last night."

Now Jackson dropped his gaze. "It doesn't matter..." He let the sentence fall.

"Then it doesn't matter why I left."

"Of course it matters!" Jackson exploded.

"Tell me what you were going to tell me!" April shot back hotly.

Jackson looked to her for half a second, then crossed the distance between them, catching the base of her neck with his hand and covering her mouth with his in a warm, passionate kiss.

April gasped against his mouth, but returned his kiss eagerly, her hands sliding up his arms and wrapping around his neck. His lips shot fire in her veins. She had _never_ felt like this before.

Jackson pulled her closer to him, working his mouth over hers slower now, tasting her fully. Kissing her was everything he thought it would be and more. April, sweet, neurotic, anal April stirred something deep within him, and he felt complete when she was with him. It was an unsettling feeling.

April swayed against him, getting lost in the fireworks he caused in her soul. She sighed softly as he broke the intense kiss and kissed her lips softly several times before easing away from her slowly. His hand lingered at her neck before dropping away gently, brushing her side. April felt herself sway as she looked to him. "W-well s-said," she got out, licking her lips.

Jackson ran his tongue over his lips, her warmth still lingering. "I tried telling you last night," he said quietly. "And then my mom called...and when I got back...you were with Matthew..."

April blinked. "Nothing happened, Jackson. He was teaching me how to play pool."

"He was making a move on you," Jackson replied, shifting back.

"No, he wasn't," April argued.

"April!" Jackson exclaimed. "Even if he wasn't, you spent at least an hour with him!"

April's mouth dropped. "Is that why you took Reed home?!" She took a breath after the words left her lips. She had basically just thrown down the gauntlet.

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "I was waiting for..."

"You didn't wait very long," April cut him off. "And one second you're going to tell me you...what, care about me? Like me?"

Jackson looked off. "I do care for you," he spoke quietly. "I care a lot about you."

April stiffened her spine. "Obviously not enough," she spoke softly.

Jackson looked like he had been slapped. He stepped back. "Wow, okay..."

April ran her hands through her hair. "I care about you too," she spoke softly. "A lot...I've cared about you for a long time...but I can't do this...I can't...I can't..." She couldn't put into words what she felt for Jackson. She couldn't tell him that he consumed her every waking thought. That she was acutely aware of his presence. That he ignited a fire deep within her soul that she'd never felt before. His kiss had just proven that.

Jackson held up his hand. "I get it, April." He took a few steps towards the door. "I'll, uh...we'll touch base soon..." He turned, striding to the door quickly. His hand settled on the doorknob as he hesitated. How could he tell her that what happened with Reed was a drunken mistake made out of jealousy? How could he put into words the red that filled his vision when he saw her with Mattew? She wouldn't understand...and he couldn't expect her to. He had ruined this all on his own. He wasn't good enough for April. "Goodbye, April," he spoke softly.

"Goodbye, Jackson," April whispered, watching him leave her apartment.

She immediately felt empty.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

**TWO YEARS LATER**

"I'm telling you, this merger is going to be the death of us!" Lexie Grey exclaimed hysterically.

"Everything is going to be fine," George O'Malley argued, leaning over and rubbing her shoulder. "Take a breath, Lex. If the Chief sees you like this, he'll cut you because he thinks you're nuts!"

"She _is_ nuts," Cristina Yang smirked.

Meredith Grey frowned slightly and kicked her friend under the table. "It's just a transition period, that's all."

"We're taking on new _staff_!" Izzie Stevens piped in. "Lexie is right-some of us are getting cut."

"Every merger has staff cuts," Lexie argued, starting to rattle off figures.

Cristina rolled her eyes as the resident threw out number after number. "If you're good, you won't get cut," she spoke bluntly.

"Hey, guys," April greeted, joining them with a salad and bottle of water. "What's going on?" she asked, her eyes scanning their anxious faces.

"Lexie overheard the chief talking with Jennings," George informed her, scooting his chair over so that she could join them.

"Who's Jennings?" April asked, opening her bottle of water.

"He's from the board," Cristina snipped. "He snaps his fingers and Webber jumps."

April had an unsettling feeling sink to pit of her stomach. "What's he doing here?"

Cristina rolled her eyes as Meredith spoke up. "Lexie overheard him telling the Chief about a merger."

April's eyebrows shot up. "A merger? Are we going to lose our jobs?"

"We don't know!" Izzie exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "Logically speaking though, people are going to get cut. You can't just...blend two hospitals and expect everyone to keep their job! We'd have too many staff and not enough patients."

"Then we just have to show those second-rate Mercy West surgeons who's boss!" Cristina exclaimed, hitting the table for emphasis.

"Mercy West?" April exclaimed, looking frantically between her fellow residents. "We're merging with Mercy West?!"

"Yeah, cause of the economy," Lexie spoke up. "Hey, you started out at Mercy West, right? What are they like?"

April stumbled to her feet, knocking over her chair in the process. She felt light-headed as she staggered back. Seconds later she turned and ran from the cafeteria. She ignored their calls as she banged into Dr. Owen Hunt in her haste. She spat an apology and kept running.

April raced for the stairwell, running for the fourth floor supply closet. It was the biggest supply closet in the entire hospital, and it had come to be her sanctuary. She could slip to the back corner when she needed some time to think, and no one bothered her. They simply breezed in, grabbed what they needed, and left. No one ever thought to search the supply closet for stowaways. She had shared the location with George once last year when he needed a quiet place to study. Other than George, no one knew of her hideaway.

Once leaving the stairwell, April slowed her pace, trying to appear calm as she walked to the supply closet. Her legs were shaky and she felt like she was going to collapse any moment. She checked the halls before stepping into the closet, closing the door and scrambling for the far corner, dropping to her knees and crawling past the shelves, pressing her back to the cool wall.

April felt the anxiety consume her. She drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs as she gulped breath after breath, feeling like her lungs were going to explode.

Jackson. She was going to see Jackson again.

Merging with Mercy West meant that she and Jackson were going to be thrown together again.

It had been two years since she'd lay eyes on Jackson. Two years since that night in her apartment when they shared that earth shattering kiss. Two years since they bid farewell, promising to keep in touch, despite the distance between them.

Jackson had tried to keep up contact, but April ignored his calls until he finally stopped calling all together. He had called her every day for six months straight, leaving her voicemails once a week, until he finally gave up.

April's hands shook as she reached into her lab coat, pulling out her cell phone. She went to her messages, pressing play on the last message he'd left her over a year ago. She closed her eyes as his voice filtered into her ears. Lord, how she missed him. A stray tear ran down her cheek as he told her goodbye and hung up. She played the message again, getting lost in it.

She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready to see Jackson again. She still wasn't over him. Out of sight, out of mind did _not_ apply to her.

Sure, she'd been super busy at Seattle Grace. She'd had to adjust to a new pack of interns who hated her on the spot. George O'Malley and Izzie Stevens were the only ones who befriended her. Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, and Alex Karev never welcomed her, and to this day they barely tolerated her. They were hardly her friends.

The attendings had been rough on her at first, but they finally realized that she wasn't a total idiot and started to teach her. Hunt seemed to think she had a talent for trauma, and he promised to get a course going so that she could specialize as a trauma surgeon.

Once settling in to Seattle Grace, there was the intern exam, and she'd barely squeaked through it. She had panicked on test day and nearly blown the eight years she spent in school preparing for this career choice. Izzie had shook some sense into her, literally, and she'd made it through by the skin of her teeth.

So, her mind had been plenty occupied, and she hardly thought of Jackson.

While she was at work.

However, when she was at home, he consumed her every thought. The coffee cup and pen still sat on her dresser. She lingered her fingers on the doorknob each time she came home. She leaned against the door where he had leaned that fateful night.

April _loved_ Jackson and had loved him for two years.

And now, just when she was able to spend ninety seconds without thinking of him...he was going to come whirling into her world again.

April gasped as the door to the supply closet opened, light streaming in. She covered her mouth, trying to be as still as possible. She could barely make out Izzie's figure.

"April," Izzie called. "I know you're in here. George told me this is where you go." Izzie hesitated, listening. "Don't even try to act like you're not in here." She stepped inside and closed the door, flicking on the light. "I know you're in that corner behind the colostomy supplies." Izzie looked to the corner, catching a glimpse of April's blue scrubs. "If you make me crawl in there after you, I'm going to kick your ass."

April sighed heavily, crawling from behind the shelf and pushing herself to her feet. "Fine, here I am."

Izzie's gaze flicked over her before her eyes went soft with compassion. "It's that guy, isn't it?"

April opened her mouth to speak, but nodded instead as tears filled her eyes. "Yeah," she finally croaked out.

Izzie was another one who had a lot of baggage. It was what bonded the two of them. After Denny died, Izzie shut herself off from everyone, but for some reason, she talked to April. It had taken her several months to become functional again, but during that time she and April had become best friends. April had confided in her the real reason she transferred to Seattle Grace. "Are you going to be okay?" Izzie asked quietly, stepping closer to her and putting her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"I-I don't know," April gasped, wringing her hands. "I thought...I thought..."

"That you had moved on?" Izzie offered, seeing the woman grasping desperately for words.

"Yeah, sort of," April whispered, biting her lip.

"Mmm," Izzie mused, nodding knowingly. "You never move on from that kind of love, April."

April hung her head. "What do I do?" she asked softly, running her hands through her hair.

"The only thing you can do," Izzie offered, easing away from her. "You focus on your job, treat him like you would any other coworker, and wait for him to make the first move."

"He's going to hate me," April blurted, hanging her head again. "He tried to talk to me, but...I shut him out. I pushed him away because I was afraid of falling in love with him...I was afraid he was going to hurt me..." She wiped at her eyes stubbornly.

Deep down, a small part of April wished that Jackson had transferred back to the east coast.

* * *

One week later Jackson shut his locker at Mercy West for the final time. His time here was over. Due to the economy, Mercy West was merging with Seattle Grace hospital. Mercy West was closing, the hospital was going to be torn down, and they were all transferring to the Seattle Grace hospital. The next few weeks were going to be an especially trying time due to every attending, resident, and intern being evaluated, and if you weren't up to par, you were losing your job. Now was the time to step up your game.

Unfortunately, Jackson couldn't even think about his surgical abilities right now. His mind was focused on one thing-April Kepner.

April had cut him out of her life two years ago. He wasn't even sure why. He suspected it had to do with what happened with him and Reed, but April never _addressed_ the issue; she just dropped him cold turkey. He had tried desperately to continue their friendship despite her transfer, but she wasn't having any part of it. He finally gave up trying.

Now, two years later, it seemed fate was bringing them together yet again. Despite the circumstances, the changes, and the lost time...they were going to end up right where they started. Together.

Jackson wasn't letting her get away from him this time.

"You ready, Avery?" Dr. Arnolds snapped, poking his head in. "Everyone else is out front loading up on the bus."

"I'm ready, Dr. Arnolds," Jackson jarred, pulling his bag onto his shoulder and following his mentor out of the locker room. "How many of us do you think are going to get cut?" he asked as they walked.

"Don't think like that, Avery," Dr. Arnolds snapped. "You do the work I know you're capable of doing, and you'll be fine."

Jackson hoped the man was right, but he wasn't sure his ability would keep him at Seattle Grace-Mery West. His last name would keep him there.

The bus was filled with nervous energy as the residents and interns made predictions and bets as to how long they'd last, and how many Seattle Grace surgeons they'd demolish. Charles was looking forward to a fresh batch of chicks as he put it.

Jackson tried to keep up with their lightbeat chatter, but his mind wasn't in it. The one thing he was looking forward to was getting to see April again.

Moments later the orange scrubbed team was filing from the bus and entering the lobby of Seattle Grace. It was much bigger than the hospital they were used to. More beds, more OR rooms, and a bigger pit.

"Quiet!" Dr. Arnolds yelled loudly. "I know you're eager to get started, but I don't need you running around here like a bunch of children. You're professionals, and I suggest you act like it, or you're out of here!" He smirked when a hush fell over the residents and interns. "I'm going to count you off. Ones go to the pit, Twos go to the clinic, Threes go to the second floor, and Fours go to the third floor, got it? One...two...three...four..."

Jackson scanned the area quickly, wondering where April was..._if_ she was even here at all. Maybe she'd transferred. Or failed out. Or dropped out. Not like _he'd_ know anything. He shook his thoughts away as Arnolds assigned him number four. Third floor. Jackson watched a group of his coworkers flood to the elevator, but he caught sight of a stairwell to his left and chose the stairs instead. Getting there first would certainly set him apart from the rest of the pack.

Jackson raced up the stairs, bursting through the door and instantly seeing a group of dark blue scrubs gathered at the nurse's station. They wore blue here, huh? He looked down to his orange scrubs for a second before adjusting the stethoscope around his neck, taking a deep breath, and approaching the group with feigned confidence. "Good morning, I'm Dr. Avery. Dr. Arnolds assigned me to this floor."

A shorter woman turned and looked at him. "You're from Mercy West?" she asked, a slight sneer to her voice.

"Yes, I am," Jackson replied, prepared for that exact reaction.

The woman looked him over. "I'm Dr. Bailey. Don't suck up to me, because I hate you, and that's not going to change."

Jackson smirked. "I don't expect it to." Jackson looked up, scanning the rest of the blue scrubbed Seattle Grace staff.

And his eyes landed on April's.

The sight of her knocked the breath out of him. He stared in spite of himself.

April had noticed him the second he left the stairs. Her heart stopped as he approached Dr. Bailey and that smooth tone of us filled her ears again. She felt the blood drain from her face as his eyes locked on hers. She instantly felt light-headed and her vision blurred.

"Kepner, what's wrong with you?!" Bailey snapped, catching the woman's arm as she swayed. "Did you give blood today?!" she demanded, glaring at her.

"Y-Yeah," April lied, unable to pull her eyes away from Jackson's.

"Did you eat anything after?" Bailey barked, her fingers pressing to the resident's wrist.

"N-no," April stuttered, looking down to the shorter doctor.

Bailey gave her a glare. "Go to the vending machine and get something to eat!" she ordered. "_If_ you can even walk! Lie down in the on-call room before you even _think_ of joining me today. I swear, you people always want to cut open everyone else, but you can't even take care of yourselves!" Bailey looked over to George. "O'Malley! Make sure she doesn't pass out before she gets to the on-call room. Now, the rest of you..."

April sagged against George as he helped her walk around the corner to the vending machine. She dropped her gaze as she passed Jackson. His scent filled her nostrils, causing her to sway again.

"Are you going to be okay?" George asked, concerned, as he poked quarters into the vending machine.

"Y-Yeah, just a s-sugar drop," April lied, feeling shaky.

George decided on a honey bun and a canned cola. "Are you _sure_ you're going to be okay?" he stressed as he helped her into the on-call room.

"Yeah, just give me a few minutes." April forced a smile. "I'll catch up with you in a little while." She watched as George gave her another concerned look before finally leaving the on-call room. April tossed the food aside, starting to pace. She wasn't expecting to see Jackson the very first day! "What are you doing to me?!" she asked, throwing her hands up and looking skyward. She threw herself onto the lower bunk bed and closed her eyes, taking slow deep breaths. She counted slowly to fifty, focusing on filling her lungs with air and releasing it slowly. She felt the trembles in her body start to ease.

April opened her eyes as she heard the door open. "I'm okay, George, I promise."

"Who's George?"

April was on her feet in record speed, looking into those gorgeous blue eyes that could only belong to Jackson. The air practically sizzled between them as she gaped at him. All words had left her brain the second he spoke.

Jackson's eyes broke gaze, sweeping up and down her. She hadn't changed a bit; she just had a touch of an edge to her eyes. She was still breathtaking. "Who's George?" he repeated, his voice cracking as he stepped closer to her.

April coughed, her mouth suddenly parched. "He's a c-coworker," she stuttered, looking to the floor. "Can you believe it?" she blurted out, somewhat shrilly. "A merger!"

Jackson quirked his head. "I don't care about the merger." He moved closer to her as he spoke.

April licked her lips, moving closer to him instinctively. "I missed you," she whispered as they moved within centimeters of one another.

"I missed you too," Jackson whispered back, looking down at her. "I've missed you so much."

April tilted her chin up, looking to him. "I never stopped thinking about you," she whispered, inching closer to him, her lips nearly brushing his as she spoke.

Their gaze lasted a second longer before their arms wrapped around each other and their lips crashed together.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Having April in his arms again was the best feeling in the world. Jackson had missed her _so_ much. As soon as he saw her, he questioned how he had managed to survive the past two years without her. One hand tangled in her hair as the other went to her lower back, pressing her closer to him. He groaned against her lips as he felt her arms wrap around him, her fingers gripping into his back.

April gasped against him as she staggered back, feeling the wall hit her back as Jackson's firm body pressed against her, holding her against the wall. "Jackson, Jackson," she gasped, managing to break the kiss. "What are we doing?"

Jackson kissed her again, softly, then cupped her head in his hand. "I wanted to be the last person to kiss you," he panted against her, "before I kill you."

April stiffened. "What are you talking about?" she asked, her eyebrows shooting up as Jackson pulled away from her completely and walked over to the door. The sound of the lock clicking vibrated in her ears.

Jackson leaned against the door, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why didn't you call me?"

April bit her lip, looking away from him. So many reasons ran through her head as to why she didn't call him. She couldn't tell him that she was afraid that if she called him that he would convince her to come back. She couldn't tell him that she was afraid that if she called him it would make things even harder for her. She couldn't tell him that if she called him...she'd want to be with him. Everything about Jackson terrified her. She was terrified of the way she felt around him. She was terrified of the way she _looked_ at him. She was terrified that starting a relationship with him would end badly and they couldn't even be friends anymore. She was terrified of losing him as her friend.

But most of all, she was terrified that he would break her heart.

Jackson waited, watching as she shifted uncomfortably. "Tell me, April!" he snapped loudly. "Why didn't you call me?"

April started to chew her lip. "I c-couldn't..."

"Yes you could!" Jackson hissed, pushing away from the door. "I called you every day! Every _day_, April! You knew I was calling you!"

"I couldn't call you!" April exploded, throwing her hands in the air, then clasping them at the base of her neck as she inhaled deeply.

"Why?!" Jackson demanded, stepping closer to her. "All you had to do was pick up the phone! Why couldn't you call me?"

"Because of what I said that night!" April shrieked. "I saw how much it hurt you! I saw it on your face, Jackson, and I didn't want to hurt you again."

Jackson studied her for a few moments. "You're lying."

April shifted again. She felt like all the oxygen was leaving the room. She couldn't handle this feeling. "I-I'm not..."

"Yes, you are!" Jackson cut her off. "Just tell me the truth."

"Fine!" April shrieked, throwing her hands up. "You want to know why I didn't call you?!"

"That's all I've wanted to know for two years," Jackson replied.

"Because of this!" April shouted, motioning her hand between the two of them. "Because when I'm around you...I can't breathe! I can't freaking _breathe_, Jackson! You-you do...God, you do something to me! I can't explain it, but..." She started to pant, feeling that anxiety run through her veins. Being this close to Jackson was too much for her. It was different when they were friends in that casual setting, but...denying this..._wanting_ feeling she had for him...it was almost unbearable. And she wanted him. God, how she wanted him.

Jackson closed the distance between them, gathering her in his arms, holding her firmly against him as she resisted at first. "Relax, April," he whispered against her hair. "Just relax." His hand moved to her back, rubbing up and down her spine gently, but firmly. His other hand cradled her head against his chest. He could feel her heart pounding. "Ssshhhh," he soothed in her ear.

April trembled against him, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent. Something about Jackson was intoxicating to her. It practically made her light headed. He was her lifeline and her kryptonite all rolled in to one. One second she could barely resist him, but once she gave in...everything felt at peace within her. "I'm sorry," she whispered against his chest, then titled her chin to look up at him. "I'm _so_ sorry, Jackson."

"It's okay," he whispered back, looking down at her. "I gave you a reason to leave."

April shifted away from him uncomfortably, looking down to her feet. "Yeah," she spoke softly, the green eyed monster rising in her core. She had stayed awake every night for a month thinking of Jackson and Reed in intimate situations. How Reed got to kiss him, touch him, and just..._be_ with him. Then her mind roamed to how Jackson had kissed and touched Reed in return. The thought of his hands smoothing over Reed's body bloomed lust in April. She thought of him sexually many of those nights that she lay awake.

Jackson cleared his throat, watching as her eyes inspected the floor. "I was jealous," he confessed, moving across the small room and sitting on the single bunk bed. He clasped his hands between his knees and looked ahead. "I watched you with Matthew, and I thought...I thought you were going to hook up with him." He clucked his tongue and took a breath. "I was going to tell you how I was feeling, and Mattew just...swooped in and took my moment. So, I started drinking...kept drinking...and then I left with Reed."

April bit her lip again, then sat beside him on the bed, putting her hand on his knee as he continued.

"I regretted it the next morning," Jackson spoke. "I...looked for you everywhere, but...you weren't there. I thought I had just missed you...then Dr. Arnolds told us in rounds that you transferred."

April nodded. "I left Joe's that night and came here. There was a pile up, so the pit was packed. The Chief was here that night, so I talked to him. There was an opening, and I took it."

Jackson looked over at her, his eyes roaming her face. "Nothing has changed on my end," he said quietly.

April let out a slow breath, looking down to the floor. "Me either," she whispered back, casting him a sideways look.

Jackson nodded, pursing his lips. He wanted to blurt out that he wanted things to be different between them-he wanted April to be his. He wanted her as his...girlfriend. Simply thinking the word made him feel like a total dork, but that's what he wanted. However, he couldn't make himself actually say the words. Not here, not in some shady on-call room. If Seattle Grace was anything like Mercy West, they were currently sitting in a sex playground. Jackson licked his lips, his eyes traveling down to her mouth. "Meet me for dinner tonight," he said simply.

April nodded. "A-At Joe's?" she asked quietly.

Jackson shook his head. "No." He stood abruptly. "I'll pick you up." He held his hand out to her.

"O-okay," April replied, taking his hand and standing as he helped her up. Her eyes went to their connected hands, watching as he twined his fingers with hers. Her heart picked up beat as her eyes darted to his.

"I'll see you tonight," Jackson spoke softly, bringing her hand up and placing his lips against two of her fingers. He released her hand and backed away, unlocking the door, and leaving the on-call room.

April collapsed onto the bed, a wide grin covering her lips. She felt giddy, and stupid, and..._happy_. For the first time in two years, she felt that rush again.

"Kepner!" Bailey barked, barging into the room. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, Dr. Bailey!" April exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "Much better."

Bailey studied her for a moment, noting that her color had returned to her cheeks. "Alright, you're with Dr. Sloan today. I put Jackson Avery with him as well. Help the Mercy West invader adjust to how we run things here."

"Got ya," April grinned. It seemed everything was back to normal.

* * *

"What's going on?" Izzie asked as she joined the table of her friends at lunch. They were all craning their necks looking across the cafeteria.

"April is conversing with the enemy," George reported in a whisper.

"Who's side is she on?" Cristina snarled. "It's battle of the fittest, and she's freaking _talking_ to them?!"

"Maybe they're just her friends," Lexie suggested. "You know, she was at Mercy West before coming here...maybe she's reconnecting."

"Maybe she's a traitor," Meredith snorted. "Where's her loyalty?"

Izzie bit her lip, watching as her friend chatted quite comfortably with the orange-scrubbed invaders. "Maybe she was just assigned with them this morning," she suggested.

"Whatever," Alex snorted. "It's us against them, and she's traded sides."

Izzie rolled her eyes, then boldly walked across the table, approaching the table of Mercy Westers and April. "April," she spoke loudly. "Can I talk to you..." Her eyes skimmed over the orange scrubs, "alone?"

Three sets of eyes landed on her as April blinked. "Sure, Izzie," she spoke, standing and excusing herself from the table. "What's up?" she asked, stepping away from the table and walking with Izzie.

"What are you _doing_?" Izzie hissed. "They're here to replace us!"

"They're not here to replace us," April retorted. "They're here to work _with _us. We're all a team now."

"They don't act like a team," Izzie frowned. "They're clearly distancing themselves from us."

"They are not," April sighed. "Seattle Grace is seperating itself from them. Come on," she grabbed Izzie's arm as she spoke. "Sit with us, please? Get to know them...I promise, you'll like them."

Izzie gave her a skeptical look, then moved her eyes back over to the table. "Which one is your guy?" she asked, lowering her voice.

April smiled widely. "Jackson, the one with the incredible eyes."

Izzie looked over to him, nodding with approval. "Nice."

"Please sit with us," April begged, tugging on her arm again.

"Okay, fine," Izzie replied with a roll of her eyes. "If you make me like them, I'm going to kill you."

April giggled as she dragged her friend over to the table. "Hey guys, this is Izzie," she introduced. "She's a really good friend of mine. Izzie, this is Jackson, Reed, and Charles. They were in my intern group at Mercy West."

"Nice to meet you," Izzie replied dryly, looking each of them over skeptically.

"Here, Izzie, have a seat," Jackson offered, standing and offering her his chair. He moved to stand behind April.

"Thank you," Izzie replied, watching as Jackson rested his hands on April's shoulders casually. She instantly liked him-he was polite, sincere, and a nice piece of man candy. She glanced to her ring finger; not that she had use of man candy anymore. "What do you guys think of the merger?"

"We're not your enemies," Charles spoke up. "We're just trying to keep our jobs, that's all. We'd actually like to work _with_ you."

"Especially since you've ranked higher than us for many years," Reed tacked on.

Izzie looked them over skeptically. She didn't trust them. Luckily, her pager went off. "I have to go," she spoke, pulling her pager from her waistband. "I have a transplant patient...maybe we can catch up later."

"Bye, Izzie," April called, waving as her friend left.

"She's a bitch," Reed announced once Izzie left.

"Definitely," Jackson chimed in.

"She's hot," Charles deadpanned, watching Izzie's ass as she left the cafeteria.

"Guys," April whined. "Saying things like that is not going to make you blend with these people." They all gaze her skeptical looks. "I'm serious," she added, frowning. "I feel like I'm caught between two worlds."

"You never should have left us," Jackson spoke pointedly.

April sighed with frustration. "Please don't do that," she said softly, leaning over and taking his hand. Jackson hesitated, but squeezed her hand in return.

"These doctors suck," Charles spoke, taking a bite of his sandwhich. "They are nowhere near the quality of our Mercy West doctors."

"Stop that," April snapped. "We work here now...you might as well bond with the doctors. They're not that bad."

"Traitor," Reed snipped, looking down to her pager as it went off. "See you guys later."

"Me too," Charles chimed in as his pager mimicked hers. He bid them farewell and dumped his tray.

April shifted uncomforably, looking over to Jackson. "Do you think we'll ever mingle together?" she asked, chewing her lip.

"Honestly?" Jackson smirked. "Honestly, no. We're competitors...it's going to take a while."

April sighed, hanging her head. "I thought you would say that."

Jackson squeezed her hand. "Screw them," he said with confidence. "They'll either like us, or they won't." He looked to her seriously. "The only thing that matters about this merger is...I found you again."

April looked down for a moment, then looked back to him. "I..." She was cut off by her pager blaring loudly. "Oh my gosh!" She jumped up, yanking her pager from her waistband. "It's Dr. Sloan," she reported as Jackson's pager went off. "We have to go!"

They deposited their lunch trays quickly, talks of Seattle Grace versus Mercy West quickly forgotten. It was just like old times-Jackson and April versus the world. Nothing else mattered but them.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N - It's been interesting writing this chapter, because in my other Grey's Anatomy fic, Jackson is actually going on a date with Lexie lol If you like Mark/Lexie, check out my fic Opposites Attract-you'll enjoy it. OK, my shameless plugging is over, so enjoy! And thank you all for the wonderful reviews! 3**

Chapter Fourteen

"Do you think it _took_ you long enough?" Mark Sloan snapped as April and Jackson hurried from the stairwell. "Perhaps you should take lessons from your interns." He motioned to two interns who stood at his side with tablet and pen in hand.

"We were in the cafeteria," Jackson snapped back.

April widened her eyes and nudged him in the ribs. "We're sorry, Dr. Sloan. It won't happen again."

Mark eyed Jackson like he was inspecting him under a microscope. "Here," he said, thrusting a chart into April's hands. "Familiarize yourself with Mrs. Duncan. She'll be undergoing surgery in the morning." A devilish smile played on his lips. "In fact, I'd like all of you to go meet Mrs. Duncan. She's in room three twelve."

"Yes sir, Dr. Sloan," April called as Mark turned abruptly and left the nurse's station.

"What a douche," Jackson frowned, glaring a hole into the man's back. The interns giggled.

"Don't say that," April chastised him. "He's Mark Sloan, head of plastics. He came here from New York. He's basically the best plastic surgeon in the country!"

"I don't care," Jackson replied. "I'm an Avery, and you don't see me walking around acting like that."

"You're an Avery?" one of the interns spoke up. "As in Harper Avery?"

April watched Jackson shift uncomfortably. He was obviously used to it being just the two of them, and now he'd have to adjust to things like interns. "Don't be so nosy, Stacy," April spoke up. "Jackson's family tree isn't any of your business." She gave the intern a look before starting up the stairs. "Have any of you spoken to Mrs. Duncan?" she asked, tucking the chart under her arm.

Jackson smiled fondly at April. She had really developed her confidence since being here at Seattle Grace. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all. "Which room did Sloan say?" he asked as they approached the third floor.

"Three twelve," the intern piped up.

"Thanks," Jackson replied, glancing over the nametag. Stephanie. He'd try to remember that. His eyes ran over the numbers on the plates outside the door. "This way," he said, turning to the right.

April knocked on the door once they reached the room, then poked her head inside. "Mrs. Duncan?" she asked, her eyes landing on two women. One was sitting on the hospital bed while another sat in a chair in the corner flipping through a magazine.

"Yes?" the woman in the bed, presumably Mrs. Duncan, asked as she sat up a bit straighter. She was dressed for the day in a pair of slacks and a purple blouse. Her black flats were crossed at the ankle.

April assumed this woman was in for a breast implant, despite appearing a few years past forty. She seemed the prim and proper type that wanted to look her best. She was possibly in for a facelift as well. "Hello, I'm Dr. Kepner. This is Dr. Avery, and we're your residents under Dr. Sloan." She opened the chart. "Dr. Sloan just informed us that you were here, so forgive me for not knowing that you're in for a..." Her eyes roamed the pre-op notes and all the color drained from her face.

"April," Jackson hissed, looking over to her. "What's she in for?"

"A...A...a pe..." April stuttered.

Jackson looked over her shoulder, his eyes running across the page quickly. "A penis transplant?" he asked, his mouth dropping. His eyes moved to the very feminine...man...or was she...he...a woman? "Are you getting one, or getting one taken off?"

"_Jackson_," April hissed as Stacy and Stephanie giggled. She slapped the chart shut and smacked him with it. "Mrs. Duncan, I'm _so_ sorry."

Mrs. Duncan chuckled and held up her hand. "It's okay, dear."

"It takes a little while to get used to," the woman in the chair added, standing and extending her hand. "I'm the _real_ Mrs. Duncan, but to keep down confusion, just call me Lois."

"Nice to meet you," April and Jackson spoke, then took turns shaking their hands.

"So, Mrs. Duncan," Jackson spoke up. "What...exactly will be done in the morning?"

Mrs. Duncan smiled while Lois turned abruptly and looked out of the window, putting her back to the room. "I will be losing my penis tomorrow, Dr. Avery."

"Oh," Jackson replied quietly, instinctively shifting his weight. "So this is a sexual reassignment surgery?" He glanced to April, noting the redness in her cheeks.

"Yes," Mrs. Duncan replied and smiled.

"So," Jackson continued after noting April's silence, "you've been through your hormone replacement therapy?" He leaned over to the interns. "Take notes," he instructed them, watching as they started to scribble furiously.

"Yes," Mrs. Duncan replied. "I've been on the hormones for over a year, I've had my facial hair removed by laser, and six months ago Dr. Sloan gave me these." She motioned to her breasts as she spoke.

Jackson had never seen anything like this before. Certainly not at Mercy West. Perhaps this merger wouldn't be too terrible after all. "Do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?" he asked bluntly, taking a step closer.

"Of course not," Mrs. Duncan replied. "Dr. Sloan told me that this is a teaching hospital, and he figured your mouth would water at my surgery." She motioned to another chair in the corner. "Have a seat, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

April watched as Jackson and the interns scurried to Mrs. Duncan's bedside, but her gaze went to Lois instead. Lois hadn't moved from the window for several minutes. "Are you okay?" April asked quietly after moving to stand beside the other woman.

Lois brought one hand up to her mouth. "Of course," she replied quietly. "Until death do you part, you know?"

April bit her lip, shifting her weight. "This has to be hard for you...I'm sure there's someone you can talk to..."

"I'm fine," Lois replied and shook her head firmly. "He's the happiest he's ever been...and tomorrow he'll finally get what he's always wanted."

April looked to the woman talking animatedly about her surgery and what all it would entail. "But there are two of you," she spoke quietly to Lois. "This is your marriage...you chose to marry a man, but now..." She wasn't exactly sure how to finish the sentence.

"I'll be fine," Lois replied, wiping a stray tear from her eye. She stayed quiet for a moment, the small room filling with the excitement of surgery expectations. "I just wish he wouldn't be so _happy_ about it," she admitted. "He hasn't even thought what this does to us...to me..."

April nodded and patted the woman on the shoulder. "I'll be here again in the morning if you decide you'd like to talk." April decided that the best thing Lois needed right now was probably some peace and quiet. "Okay, guys, I'm sure we've bothered Mrs. Duncan long enough," she spoke brightly, turning and facing the others. "Dr. Avery, we should probably check in with Dr. Sloan." Stacy and Stephanie immediately started whining, asking to stay and chat with Mrs. Duncan for just a few more minutes. "In the hall," April snapped. "Now." Her eyes followed the scurrying interns out of the room. "We'll see you in the morning, Mrs. Duncan," she spoke brightly. "And remember..."

"Nothing to eat after midnight," Mrs. Duncan finished with a smile. "I'll see you later, dears."

April gave Lois an encouraging smile. Lois mouthed 'thank you' and rubbed her temples, closing her eyes. It seemed April had made the right decision by giving the woman some silence.

As soon as Jackson and April returned to the hall, Stacy and Stephanie flanked Jackson, eagerly chattering about the patient and the surgery. They begged Jackson to put in a good word for them with Sloan so that at least one of them could get in on the surgery.

April's steps became harder and harder as they walked. After talks of the surgery, the interns shifted gears to what Mercy West was like, what it was like growing up as an Avery, and if Jackson had a girlfriend. On the last topic, April spun on her heel and glared at the two. "Go to the pit and see if anything has come in that Dr. Sloan may need to address," she ordered. "Dr. Avery and I will join you shortly." The interns nodded something along the lines of 'yes ma'am' and hurried to the stairwell.

Jackson quirked his head, looking over to April. "That was kind of rude," he remarked.

"Bite me," April frowned, turning back around and continuing down the hall.

Jackson's eyebrows shut up. "What?" he asked, picking up his pace to catch up to her.

"Nothing!" April fumed, approaching the nurse's station and slamming the chart back into the chart rack. "Don't worry about me at all! I'm sure you have much more entertaining topics to discuss with Stacy and Stephanie!" She made a face and batted her eyelashes. "Oh, Dr. Avery, how is your girlfriend able to stand being away from you? What, you mean, you _don't_ have a girlfriend?"

A slow smile curved Jackson's lips. "Jealousy doesn't suit you, April."

"I'm not jealous!" April snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You totally are," Jackson chuckled, leaning in and placing a kiss to her cheek. "You have no reason to be."

April's anger faded slowly, and she cast shy eyes to him. "I don't?" she asked quietly.

"Not at all," Jackson replied.

* * *

"You look great!" Izzie exclaimed later that evening as April came out of her bedroom wearing a black skirt, a white blouse, and black heels. "I told you the heels would _make_ the look." She clapped her hands and bounced up and down happily.

April smoothed her hands over her skirt and bit her lip. "I'm not sure, Izz," she said quietly. "What if this is too much?"

"It's not too much," Izzie assured her, crossing the distance and taking her friend's hand. "This is the first time he's seen you out of the hospital and _not_ in scrubs. You've got to show him how hot you are."

April blushed and looked down to the heels, lifting her foot. "I haven't worn heels in a long time," she confessed.

"It's like riding a bike," Izzie promised her, leading her to the bathroom. "Your hair looks great, so let's do your make up."

"Not too much," April spoke up, but she knew it was too late to reign in her friend. Izzie loved shopping, picking clothes, doing make up, the works. Izzie had been in heaven planning Meredith's wedding...well, what actually turned out to be _her _wedding. April smiled at the memory. "How did things go today?" she asked as Izzie guided her to sit on the toilet.

Izzie crinkled her nose as she pulled out April's palettes of eyeshadow. "The Mercy West interns are annoying. They ask too many questions."

"The Mercy West attendings encourage them to ask questions," April defended. "How else will they learn?"

"I get that," Izzie replied, choosing a light brown color. "But when I answer you, don't ask me five hundred more times, you know?" She swabbed the brush across the color. "Close your eyes," she instructed, then began applying the color to April's lid. "Alex hates Reed. Hates her with a passion. He says she's stuck up and a brown noser."

"Reed is my..." April started, but then stopped. She wasn't sure how to classify Reed. She and Reed had been friends at Mercy West, but then...well, Reed left with Jackson, and the two women hadn't really clarified their relationship. Even today at lunch, they spoke basic greetings; they didn't really address what had happened.

"Reed is what?" Izzie asked, retrieving a new brush and picking a new color.

"I'm not sure," April admitted. "You remember when I transferred here?"

"Yeah, cause Jackson slept with some tramp." Izzie stopped and gasped. "Her? He slept with _her_?!"

"Yes," April confessed, biting her lip.

"Ewww!" Izzie shrieked. "You are _much_ prettier than her, April! Besides, she's a bitch."

April giggled in spite of herself. "She says the same about you."

"Oh no she didn't!" Izzie exclaimed. "I'm from a trailer park. I will beat the hell out of her." She shook her head. "I'll shank her tomorrow."

April laughed in spite of herself. She adored Izzie. Izzie made the transition from Mercy West to Seattle Grace much easier. Izzie was always there for her, whether she needed to cry, complain, or drink. Izzie was her female Jackson. Well, the non-kissing female Jackson. April blushed as her mind roamed to Jackson. "I'm nervous," she confessed in a whisper.

"Don't be," Izzie smiled, dabbing some lip gloss on the center of April's lower lip. "I saw the way he was looking at you today. He adores you." Izzie turned April towards the mirror. "All done."

April gasped. "Izzie, oh my gosh! I look...wow!" She looked beautiful, even in her own eyes.

"I didn't do much," Izzie replied with a smile. "You're easy to work with." She squealed after the doorbell rang. "He's here!"

April felt the heat flush through her body and her hands instantly got sweaty. "I'm not ready for this!"

"Of course you are," Izzie replied. "This is Jackson...love of your life Jackson. This is the guy that put you in a year long depression. You love him, he loves you."

"He doesn't love me," April replied quietly.

Izzie cocked her head and looked at her friend. "He hasn't dated anyone in two years."

"What?" April gasped, her eyes widening.

"He hasn't dated anyone in two years," Izzie repeated. "I dug up a little research on your guy today. He's a good guy. He waited for you...just like you waited for him."

Tears came to April's eyes, and she blinked them away quickly. "Wow," she whispered, looking down to the floor, then jarring when he rang the doorbell again. "Coming!" she exclaimed, fluffed her hair, and left the bathroom with Izzie on her heels. She took a deep breath before opening the door. "Hey," she spoke softly, her eyes taking him in.

Jackson stood before her in black slacks, a blue collared shirt, and a casual dinner coat. "Hey," he replied, his eyes instantly running her up and down. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," April blushed, looking down and clasping her hands together.

Izzie hesitated as a silence settled in. They were like two teenagers on their first date. It was adorable. "Have her home by midnight, Jackson," she spoke up, retrieving April's purse and handing it to her. "Otherwise, I release the dogs."

Jackson smirked and nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

April gave her friend a quick hug before stepping outside and pulling the door behind her. She fumbled with her keys, dropping them before actually getting them into her purse. "Sorry," she murmured as Jackson kneeled and retrieved her keys.

Jackson tucked the keys into April's palm, holding her hand longer than necessary. "It's just you and me," he assured her. "Like its always been."

April let out a slow shaky breath and nodded. She smiled softly when Jackson extended his arm and she looped her arm through his. Izzie was right-she was completely in love with him.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

April released another slow breath as Jackson tucked the chair under her gently, then rounded the small table to sit across from her. Her eyes roamed the intimate environment. The restaurant was a bit dark with a soft glow of light from small lamps at each table. It was a quiet environment for lovers-the other patrons seemed like they had been together forever. Older couples who held hands across the table, younger couples with engagement rings sparkling, and even the rare dating couple that looked totally in love. Jackson hadn't taken her to some sleazy place-he was showing her that he was in it for the long haul. The thought excited and frightened her at the same time. She'd never had a man like Jackson before.

Since meeting Jackson, April's mind had examined her previous relationships. She had always been attracted to one type, but dated another type. Jackson was her type-he was kind, intelligent, funny, and very, very good looking. He wasn't arrogant or boastful. He had a heart of compassion, but also had that naughty edge. He was her type. Unfortunately, she never actually _got_ her type. She usually got guys that didn't have any life goals. The guys back in Ohio never had any real goals. They wanted to work in a factory their whole life, and have a wife at home barefoot and pregnant. That was _not_ what April wanted. She wanted an active career where she could do some good in the world. Obviously, that threatened the guys she'd dated, and things never progressed further than a few months. Hence why she'd never slept with anyone. No one met her expectations.

Then, she entered med school, and she was too busy studying to entertain the thought of dating anyone, let alone sleeping with anyone.

So now, here she was. A twenty-eight year old virgin that had somehow managed to hit the lottery and ended up sitting across the table from the gorgeous Jackson Avery. And he generally seemed to _like_ her, despite her annoying ways that she was sure sent most men running for the hills.

April jarred from her trip down memory lane as Jackson looked to her expectantly. "Huh?" she asked, somewhat embarassed, and shifted her silverware on the napkin.

Jackson smiled patiently. "I asked if you liked it here?" he repeated, biting his lip. He wasn't sure if it was too much or not. "We can go somewhere else if you like?"

April shook her head, looking around at the couples, then moving her gaze back to his gorgeous blue eyes enhanced by the glow of the lamp. "It's beautiful," she spoke softly.

Jackson sighed with relief and settled back in his chair. His heart was pounding a mile a minute. He tried to remember that this was April. Just April. His friend April. The woman he'd formed a casual relationship with. Only, things weren't so casual now. They'd crossed the line of 'friends' when they kissed that night two years ago. And he'd felt the same passion for her when he kissed her earlier in the day.

Jackson had thought everything would be fine when he saw April. He even thought that he was _ready_ to see her. She'd definitely had some explaining to do after cutting him out like that. She'd just refused to even _talk_ to him. He had mentally prepped himself to address her formally, get his answers, and move right on with the merger. After all, he had to prove himself to Chief Webber that he deserved to stay at Seattle Grace Mercy West. But as soon as he saw her, all his plans flew right out the window. As soon as Jackson's eyes landed on the blue scrubbed April, he felt all those feelings for her rush through him again, and he knew he had to have her. He had to have her in his life again, but this time, he preferred more. He wanted to pursue her. She deserved to be pursued.

Jackson thanked the waitor as he brought over a wine and appetizer menu. His eyes rolled over to April as she looked over the menu uncomfortably. It was obvious she wasn't much of a wine drinker. "Would you give us a minute?" Jackson asked the waitor politely. Once the man nodded and left, he looked over to April, who was biting her lip. "Your first time?" he teased gently.

April looked to him over the top of the menu. "Is it that obvious?" she asked, feeling a blush rise in her cheeks.

"Only because I know you," Jackson smiled. "Are you eating chicken, seafood, or beef?"

April quirked her head. "Seafood, probably."

"Good choice," Jackson smirked, leaning over and taking the wine menu from her hand and motioned the waitor over. "The lady and I would like a bottle of Pinot Grigio and an artichoke dip." The waitor nodded that it was an excellent choice, and that he would return shortly with their dinner menus.

April watched as Jackson turned and looked back at her. "You seem comfortable here..." She felt the anxiety building up inside her, and she stuffed her trembling hands into her lap under the table. She wasn't a very good match for Jackson. He knew wines and food pairings, and she...well, she would have been perfectly fine with Joe's. Joe's! She wasn't a good match for him _at all_.

Jackson was studying her intently, observing the breakdown occuring in front of him. "Come on," he said simply, standing and extending his hand.

April looked up to him unsurely. "What are you..."

"Come on," Jackson repeated, wiggling his fingers at her.

April took his hand as he pulled her to her feet, twining his fingers with hers once they were both standing. Jackson started leading her towards the door, stopping to inform the waitor that their plans had changed. He thanked the man for his time, slipped some cash into the man's hand, and continued leading her out of the restaurant. A heavy feeling washed over April. Jackson had tried to do something nice for her, and she had ruined it. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as they stopped at his truck, and he opened the passenger door for her.

"It's okay," Jackson replied with a smile. "You wanna get some mexican?"

Relief washed through April. "Mexican sounds great." He wasn't dumping her or taking her home because she didn't fit in to such a pristine place. He was adjusting things to make her more comfortable. A part of her fell in love with him even more.

Jackson's smile widened and he leaned in, placing a kiss to her cheek. He hated that she felt pressured; that wasn't his intention at all. He just wanted to take her somewhere nice to assure her that he saw her as more than a friend. He saw her as more than a study buddy. This dating thing was going to be interesting.

* * *

"No way!" April laughed an hour later as they sat in a casual mexican restaurant with cheese dip and margaritas flowing. "He just...passed out?!" She covered her mouth to contain her laughter.

"I'm serious!" Jackson chuckled. "Arnolds pulled off the gauze, and Charles took one look at the man's liver and just hit the floor."

April continued to giggle as she took another sip of her margarita. "I still can't believe it..."

"He claims it was because he gave blood," Jackson scoffed, "but he's totally full of it." He smiled at April fondly as she dipped a tortilla chip into the fresh cheese dip. "Do you have any stories about these Seattle Grace jerks that might level the playing field?"

April munched on her chip thoughtfully for a few moments. "The interns were hacking each other open six months ago."

Jackson's mouth dropped. "That's for real?" he asked, watching as April nodded. "Hell, we heard about that at Mercy West! We thought it was just a rumor."

"Nope," April replied, shaking her head. "Sadie almost died during an appendectomy." She shifted uncomfortably, remembering her first appendectomy. Jackson had been there for her. Her eyes met his. "Two months ago," she started, clearing her throat, "Dr. Bailey let me perform an appendectomy...everything went perfectly...I thought of you..." She let the sentence fall as she chewed her lip.

Jackson reached across the table, taking her hand in his and running his thumb across the top of her knuckles gently. "I thought about you a lot," he admitted quietly. "I missed you..." He looked from the top of her hand to her eyes. "I missed you every day...it just didn't feel right without you there... _I _didn't feel right without you there..." He sighed with frustration and released her hand, leaning back against the red leathered booth. He ran his hand over the top of his head. He was never good at explaining himself or his feelings. No matter how hard he tried, things just never came out right.

April reached across the table, turning his hand over and running her fingertip along the lines of his palm. "I thought of you every day, Jackson," she spoke quietly, looking to the marble topped table. "I kept telling myself that I was doing the right thing, but...it didn't help, you know?" She took a small breath of air. "I've never felt this way before."

"Me either," Jackson replied quietly, looking down to her finger on his palm. It felt like she was leaving trails of fire along his skin. Not to mention that he was definitely feeling it in other areas of his body. "You've gotta stop that."

April looked to his eyes, seeing a deeper desire to them than she'd seen before. She nodded and pulled her hand back, wrapping it around her margarita glass and finishing off her drink. "George performed heart surgery in an elevator."

Jackson's eyebrows shot up, despite the random topic change. "George?" he questioned skeptically. "Double o seven?"

April frowned. "Don't call him that...that was a long time ago." She passed her empty glass to the waitor and broke a tortilla chip in half, dipping it into the cheese again. "I could have that nickname, you know?" She extended the chip to him.

Jackson pursed his lips for a moment. If it hadn't been for him, Charles would have definitely gotten the nickname circulating around Mercy West. He didn't bring it up though. Instead, he leaned over, taking the chip from her fingers with his mouth, lingering his lips on her skin before pulling away. He smirked when the blush rose in her cheeks and she fumbled with the basket of chips. He enjoyed catching up with her and talking about work, but he wanted it to be very clear to her that this was a date.

April took a big drink of the fresh margarita that was set in front of her. She felt the tequila do its thing and slowly relax the trembles Jackson stirred deep within her. "That's what I'm talking about," she whined when her eyes met Jackson's amused expression. "You...you just do things to me!"

Jackson leaned closer to her and lowered his voice. "There was a reason you had to stop doing that to my hand, April."

Maybe it was the tequila, or maybe it was the fact that she enjoyed knowing she did something to him as well...whatever the reason, April leaned in to him , keeping her gaze locked with his. "What was the reason?" she whispered. Jackson leaned in, whispering things in her ear that made her toes curl.

Jackson leaned back against the booth, watching the light hit April's eyes at the idea of what he'd told her. He saw the lust and desire dancing wildly in her expression as he waved over the waitor and requested the check. Maybe he had taken things too far in that moment, but...April seemed to enjoy the idea.

April finished her margarita as the waitor cleared their table and took Jackson's credit card, returning quickly with the slip. "Where did you get that pen?" she asked as Jackson pulled a yellow 'Surgery Rocks' pen from his pocket. _Her_ pen.

Jackson froze, trying to scramble a lie together quickly. He couldn't be the dork who told April that she loaned it to him one day and he kept it. On purpose. He looked to the pen, then back to her, shrugging casually. "An intern gave it to me."

_Liar_ April thought as that shiver of excitement ran through her veins. "Oh, okay...I used to have one just like it..." She shrugged, watching Jackson scribble in a tip and his name. Jackson kept her pen. He had actually kept her pen. For two years. And he still actively used it. The thought made her giddy inside. Jackson _did_ care for her. Truly care for her! You didn't keep someone's pen unless you really liked them! Her mind thought of the coffee cup and pen occupying her dresser.

Jackson tucked the pen into his pocket carefully and stood, extending his hand. "Are you going to be able to walk?" he teased as April stood and swayed slightly.

"Yes," April snapped, then took a step, swaying again. "Tequila hits me when I stand up."

"Just like it does everyone," Jackson chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist and holding her close against his body. His fingers smoothed up and down her side as they left the restaurant, and he helped her into the truck.

They rode to April's apartment in silence, each of them thinking of how the night would end. Would they kiss? Would they agree that the passion just wasn't there? Would they end up in bed together?

Jackson helped April from his truck and walked her up the stairs, ever mindful of her possible tipsy state. He smiled when she fumbled with her keys, dropping them again. "Maybe you should wear them around your neck," he smirked as he placed them in her palm once again.

"Maybe so," April mused, looking to him. "Thank you for tonight, Jackson," she spoke softly. Seriously. "I...really enjoyed it..."

"Me too," Jackson replied, studying her gaze for permission to kiss her. He leaned closer, giving her a chance to pull away and give the 'we're just good friends' excuse. Instead, April closed the distance, wrapping her arm around his neck and pressing her mouth to his. Jackson deepened the kiss quickly, tangling his hand in her hair as the other went to her back, pressing her closer to him. April was kissing him like a woman who truly _wanted_ him. And God knew he wanted her too. He wasn't sure exactly _when_ the chemistry hit them, but it seemed they were destined to be together.

April gasped against his mouth when she felt his hands go to her waist, his body pressing her against the door of her apartment. She kissed him hungrily, dropping her purse in the process and wrapping both of her arms around him tightly. "Do you want to come inside?" she whispered against him, kissing his bottom lip, then sucking it gingerly.

Jackson groaned, desire running through him. He forced himself away from her, putting a small distance between them. "No," he rasped, hating the word that left his lips. "Not like this," he tacked on, seeing the surprise run across her features. He brought his hand to her hair, tucking it behind her ear gently. His hand dropped to her mouth, his thumb smoothing across her lower lip. "If I go inside now...something will happen...and you're a virgin..." He had to keep reminding himself of that.

"O-Oh," April stuttered, looking down. "O-Okay, I g-get it."

"No," Jackson replied, tilting her chin up to look at him. "Your first time needs to be special...not some tequila inspired event." April nodded and looked away from him, mumbling something about understanding. "April," Jackson whispered, leaning in to her. "I didn't say your first time wouldn't be with me...I said it needs to be special."

April smiled softly at him, feeling that flush of excitement in her core again. "Oh," she sighed happily, her smile growing.

Jackson smiled, leaned in, and gave her a soft kiss at the corner of her mouth. "I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," April called, watching as he backed towards the stairs. She retrieved her purse, keys, and bounced inside, closing the door and leaning back against it. She was on cloud nine.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"Good morning," April spoke brightly as she entered the locker room the next morning.

"Oh God," Izzie groaned. "Are you going to be annoyingly happy today?"

"Yep," April grinned, opening her locker and retrieving her lab coat. A small gasp caught in her throat when arms wrapped around her waist, but she smiled when she looked down and saw those arms she loved so much.

"Good morning," Jackson said, propping his chin on her shoulder and placing a kiss to her cheek.

"Good morning," April grinned, turning in his arms and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you." She leaned up, pressing her lips to his softly.

"Gag me," Cristina frowned, walking into the room.

"Hose her off," Alex piped in, throwing a towel at the happy couple.

"Be nice," Izzie defended, catching the towel before it could reach them.

"Which one is that?" George whispered, leaning over to Meredith.

"Jackson," Meredith whispered back. "Jackson _Avery_."

"Kepner's boinking an Avery?" Alex asked, looking over to them.

"Dude, I can hear you," Jackson frowned.

"You're totally ruining the moment," April added, frowning as well.

"Good morning," Charles spoke as he and Reed entered the locker room, each one of them carrying a tray of coffee.

"What's that?" Izzie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A peace offering," Reed spoke up. "We're not here to steal your jobs. We're residents just like you are, and we'd like to work _with_ you, not against you."

Meredith, Cristina, and Alex all grabbed a coffee. "We still hate you," Cristina informed them as they headed for the door.

"But thanks anyway," Meredith added, taking a sip of the coffee.

"They'll come around," George offered, taking a cup and nodding a thanks. "I'll see you around."

"It was a nice offer," Izzie piped in, taking a cup. "It's just going to take some time. We're a tight group who's been through a lot..."

"She's just being nice," Alex smirked, coming over and kissing his wife quickly. "You're invaders. We'll always hate you." He took Izzie's hand and lead her from the locker room.

"That went over well," Reed sighed, retrieving a cup for herself.

"Yeah, good idea," Charles replied dryly.

"We've got to do something!" Reed exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Yesterday, I spent an hour looking for the supply closet. Karev totally snaked my surgery."

"Get a room!" Charles frowned, throwing a pen at April and Jackson. "We're drowning here, and you two are making out!"

April giggled as Jackson shifted so that they could face their friends. "What do you need to know? Hello, I've been here for two years."

"Where are the supply closets?" Reed asked, taking a drink of her coffee.

"Each floor has one three doors down from the nurse's station," April replied. "What else?"

"Where's the best place to catch a nap?" Charles asked.

April grinned as Jackson slipped his hands to her waist, moving circles on her skin with his fingers. "Fourth floor," she replied, though distracted.

"What are the attendings like?" Reed spoke up, pulling out a notebook.

"Dr. Shepherd is head of neurosurgery," April began. "He's really good, but he doesn't like it when you're not prepared. So study. Dr. Sloan won't let you do much in the OR; he just sticks you in the gallery most of the time. He's in plastics. Dr. Torres is the orthopedic surgeon, and she's really good about teaching. If she likes you, she might even let you hold the saw."

"Awesome," Charles grinned.

"Dr. Hunt," April started, but was interrupted by her pager blaring loudly. She looked around as Jackson's pager beeped, then Reed's, and finally Charle's. "Uh oh," she murmured, stuffing her arms into her lab coat as Jackson held it out for her. "It's Dr. Bailey," she informed them as she pulled her stethoscope around her neck. "Nine one three means get your butt to the pit."

The residents raced from the locker room, joined by the rest of their class.

"They paged you too?" Cristina frowned as they headed for the elevator.

"Yeah, we work here," Charles frowned.

Jackson watched everyone waiting for the elevator. "Ssshhh," he whispered in April's ear, taking her hand and pulling her back towards the stairwell.

"Hey!" Alex barked as they entered the elevator. He threw a finger at Jackson and April who were clearing the door of the stairwell. "Press the damn button! They're going to beat us!"

"Hurry!" Jackson encouraged as he practically ran down the stairs and dragged April with him.

April felt that surge of adrenaline. Being back with Jackson was the best thing for her. They ran down the stairs, entering the packed room before everyone else. "Dr. Bailey!" she exclaimed, her eyes darting over the scene. "You paged?"

"Where's everybody else?" Bailey frowned, peering over their shoulders.

"In the elvator," Jackson replied smugly.

Bailey shook her head. "We're going to be swarmed today, obviously," she motioned to the mayhem behind her.

"What happened?" April asked, gasping as the ambulance pulled in with another load.

"There was a hotel fire," Bailey informed them. "Dr. Sloan is going to be in overdrive today. What I need you to do is rule out the minor injuries and get them out quickly. We already have more patients than room, so we need to empty beds for the more critical patients." She sighed. "I can't be holding your hand today, so I need you to step up your game. The interns are in the clinic with Dr. Harris if you need them."

"Got it," Jackson and April replied simultaneously, heading for a patient as the other residents skidded into the room.

"Where have you been?!" Bailey bellowed before moving into her lecture.

April snatched up a chart from the end of a bed, running her eyes over the patient's name. "Hello, Mrs. Hannah, I'm Dr. Kepner, and I'm going to give you a brief examination." Her eyes skimmed over the patient who appeared well for the most part, but she noticed a little boy sitting beside the woman. "Hey, little man."

"Hi," the boy replied softly, looking to her with fearful eyes.

"Hey, little guy, why don't you come with me while this nice lady looks at your mommy," Jackson spoke, holding out his hand. The little boy looked to him for a second before taking his hand. Jackson scooped him up and made an airplane noise as he plopped him onto the bed next to Mrs. Hannah.

April smiled softly, thinking she loved him even more in that moment. "How are you, Mrs. Hannah?" she asked, pulling her stethoscope from around her neck and putting it to the woman's chest.

"I'm fine, really," Mrs. Hannah spoke, coughing. "We were lucky."

"That's a pretty nasty burn you have on your arm," April remarked as she moved the stethoscope to the woman's back.

"We were on the third floor," Mrs. Hannah explained. "We were taking the stairs, and when we got to the bottom floor...the fire was everywhere." She gasped a little, tears springing to her eyes. "It caught on my sleeve, but I was able to put it out...Adam was so scared..."

"That's your son?" April asked, looking over to the boy with Jackson.

"Yes," Mrs. Hannah replied. "He didn't think we were going to make it out..."

"It's going to be okay," April consoled, reaching into the supply cart beside the bed. "We're going to take good care of you." She retrieved two swabs. "Can you tilt your head back for me?" The woman leaned back, and April swabbed the inside of her right nostril, frowning as she pulled out a blackened swab. "Was there a lot of smoke?" April asked calmly as she swabbed the inside of the woman's left nostril.

"Yes," Mrs. Hannah replied, coughing. "Adam and I had to crawl outside...the smoke was hanging over our heads."

"Mmmmhmmm," April mused, reaching into the cart and retrieving two more swabs. "Dr. Avery," she spoke.

"Yes, Dr. Kepner?" Jackson smirked, draping his stethoscope around Adam's small neck.

"Check his nose," April replied, offering him the swabs.

"Is something wrong?" Mrs. Hannah asked, alarm flooding her tone.

"No, it's just routine procedure," April smiled, retrieving a tongue depressor and penlight. "Would you open your mouth for me?" As soon as April saw her throat, she knew the woman was in trouble. "Dr. Bailey!" she called frantically.

"What?!" Bailey barked, hurrying over.

April leaned down to her. "She and her son crawled out of the hotel. Her nostrils and throat are black...do I intubate here?"

Bailey looked around at the scene. "Avery, start the IV! Kepner, intubate her, and I'll get Grey to take her up to CCU. Hey, little man!" she exclaimed, looking to the boy. "Has the father been called?"

"Yes," Mrs. Hannah replied frantically. "What's going on?"

April pulled the curtain around them, closing them off from the rest of the chaotic ER as Jackson got the IV ready. "You have smoke inhalation," she explained. "There's soot in your nose and throat. That means that your throat is going to swell, so we're going to put a tube in your throat so that your airway doesn't close off completely."

"What about Adam?" Mrs. Hannah asked frantically.

"Adam is with another doctor," Jackson offered. "She's going to take good care of him until his dad gets here."

"What about me?" Mrs. Hannah asked.

"We're going to send you up to CCU," April explained as she pulled out an intubation kit from the supply cart. "They're going to take good care of you." She watched Jackson set the INT into the woman's hand. "I'll check on you later," she promised, watching the woman's eyes slowly close.

Jackson stood back in awe, watching as April professionally tilted the woman's head back, looked into her mouth, and ran the tube down her throat in a fluid motion. "You're in," he announced proudly as April squeezed the ambubag twice.

April gave him a special smile before pulling the curtain open. "Dr. Bailey, she's ready!"

"Grey!" Bailey barked.

"Hey guys," Lexie sighed, grabbing the bed and rolling Mrs. Hannah to CCU.

"You're freaking awesome!" Jackson exclaimed.

April blushed. "Thank y-" She was cut off as a familiar face rolled past them. "Matthew!" she exclaimed, following the gurney quickly. "Oh my God!"

Jackson's mouth dropped. He thought he was finished with that stupid Matt guy! He jarred when Dr. Hunt yelled for his assistance. Jackson cast a quick glance over to April before moving to Hunt's side.

"Matthew, what happened?!" April asked.

"One of the beams fell on me," Matthew groaned, looking down to his leg.

"My count," George spoke. "One, two..."

April grasped the sheet, helping shift Matthew to the bed. "I've got this one, Dr. O'Malley."

"You sure?" George asked.

"Yeah, I've got it," April replied, listening as the other paramedic gave her report quickly. "Your leg?" she asked, looking down to his pants.

"Yeah," Matthew groaned.

April dug her pair of scissors from her pocket, moving to the end of the bed and slicing up his pants leg quickly. "Matthew, this is bad," she reported, wincing as she saw his charred flesh.

"Yeah, I thought so," Matthew groaned, shifting. "My arm really hurts too."

April moved to his shoulder, noting a burn there as well. "What were you doing?" she asked.

"Helping this older couple out," Matthew spoke through gritted teeth. "He was on a walker."

"Awww," April sighed. She shook her head. "Olivia!" she called. "I'm giving him a shot of Morphine. Get him into trauma two and page Dr. Sloan. Oh, page Dr. Torres too!"

"Yes, Dr. Kepner," Olivia nodded.

"Look at you," Matthew grinned as April pushed up his sleeve and swabbed his arm with an alcohol pad. "You sound like a real doctor," he teased.

"That's because I _am_ a real doctor," April smirked. "This is going to hurt," she spoke as she pulled out the syringe.

"I can take it," Matthew replied, then grit his teeth when April stuck the needle in his arm. "You weren't kidding."

"You'll feel good soon," April smiled, disposing of the needle into the sharps container on the wall. "I'll check on you soon, okay?"

"Okay," Matthew smiled as Olivia pushed him towards trauma two.

April smiled after him, then jarred as Chief Webber called her name.

* * *

Twelve hours later the residents dropped into a chair at the cafeteria, eating for the first time that day.

"I'm starving," Charles raved as he unwrapped a hamburger.

"I'm too tired to eat," Reed sighed, laying her head on the table.

"I'm tired too," April sighed, pouring her dressing over her salad. "Only twenty-four more hours to go," she attempted to encourage them.

"I'm pumped," Jackson beamed. "Dr. Sloan has been insanely busy today, and we're not finished. He's even got a few surgeries lined up."

"Man!" Charles grumbled. "I knew I should have gone into plastics!"

"How's Matthew?" April asked, looking over to Jackson.

"I don't know," Jackson shrugged, a small bit of jealousy moving through him. "I haven't checked on him yet."

"I told him I'd come see him," April sighed, "but I don't see that happening anytime soon."

"I'll let you know how he is," Jackson said through gritted teeth.

"Thanks," April smiled, patting his knee under the table. She moved to take a bite and sighed when her pager went off. "Uh oh, that's Bailey. See you guys later." She nudged Reed. "Dump this?" she asked, motioning to her tray.

"Yeah, yeah," Reed murmured, waving a hand as April dashed off.

Charles watched April leave, then turned a smirk to Jackson. "You really gonna check on him?"

"I have to," Jackson frowned. "Otherwise, no."

Charles laughed. "You know, he looks familiar..."

"He was at Joe's that night," Reed spoke up, raising her head off the table.

"Oh yeah," Charles replied, taking a bite of his burger. "I still can't believe he didn't nail her that night."

"Shut it," Jackson snapped, hitting him in the shoulder.

"I'm jealous of her," Reed spoke softly. "She fits in here...they freaking _hate_ us." She motioned to the blue scrubs as she talked.

Jackson rolled his eyes. "You know April will help us...she's hardly talked to them since we got here."

"They probably hate her too," Charles laughed, but stopped laughing when Jackson glared over at him. He cleared his throat. "I'd like to get to know that Izzie girl. She's hot."

"She's married," Reed spoke up. "Plus, she and Alex can't keep their hands off each other."

"Kinda like you and Sloan," Charles smirked.

"Charles!" Reed exclaimed, kicking him under the table.

Jackson's mouth dropped. "You're sleeping with Sloan?"

Reed shrugged. "It was just a one time thing...we met up at Joe's last night..."

"She was drunk then too," Charles chimed in.

"I'm going to kill you," Reed glared at him.

Jackson shook his head. "Hey, I gotta go," he said as his pager beeped. "Later." He dumped his tray and hurried to the fourth floor. "What's up?" he asked, approaching the charge nurse.

"Four ten needs more pain meds," Lisa replied, passing the chart to Jackson.

Jackson frowned. Four ten was that stupid paramedic. What, the wuss couldn't take a little pain? Sighing heavily, Jackson entered the room with the chart tucked under his arm. "Mr. Taylor, I'm Dr. Avery..."

"I remember you," Matthew interrupted. "Look, my leg is killing me. Dr. Sloan grafted it, and I need something."

Jackson clucked his tongue and looked to the chart. What he'd like to give this clown was a punch to the face. "No allergies?" he asked, glancing to him.

"No," Matthew replied. "The demerol wore off about an hour ago. I'm dying here."

"You're not dying," Jackson replied dryly. "I'll order you some morphine." He slapped the chart shut and tucked it under his arm again, turning to leave the room.

"You're threatened by me."

Jackson turned and glared at him. "I'm not threatened."

"Yes you are," Matthew replied.

A slow smirk curved Jackson's mouth. "I have no reason to be threatened. I got the girl."

"Then why were you watching her so closely?" Matthew asked.

Jackson shook his head. "That's not your concern."

"She told me about you, you know," Matthew grunted as he shifted in the bed. "Told me what happened that night." Jackson's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, we've talked on a regular basis," Matthew informed him. "Seattle Grace is on my route."

"Get to the point," Jackson growled.

"You're not good for her," Matthew spoke bluntly. "All you're going to do is hurt her again. And when you do, I'll be here for her."

Jackson gave him a murderous glare, but forced his body to leave the room. He wasn't going to take the bait. The paramedic didn't know what the hell he was talking about. "Give him a shot of Morphine," Jackson growled, thrusting the chart back into Lisa's hands. "That's all he gets for six hours. Don't page me again about him unless he's dying."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Jackson frowned as he entered the cafeteria, scanning the room and not seeing April. _Where _was she? "Hey," he called, spotting that blonde, Izzie. "Have you seen April?"

"She was finishing up some labs for Dr. Hunt," Izzie replied, "and then she was going to the fourth floor. I think she's going to take a nap."

Jackson frowned heavily. April wasn't going to take a nap. "Thanks," he spoke, turning to leave.

"She really likes you, you know," Izzie called after him.

Jackson stopped, turning back around to face her. "That's good," he replied, "because I really like her too."

Izzie nodded, mulling over his words. "I hope so," she mused. "She was a wreck when she got here...and she's just barely gotten the pieces put back together. Please don't shatter them again."

Jackson narrowed his gaze, studying her intently. "You really care about her, don't you?"

Izzie held his gaze, then nodded again. "I do."

Jackson walked back over to the table and sat across from her. "Thank you for being there for her...that night was really messed up." He sighed and ran his hand over his head.

"Yeah, it was," Izzie stated. "April is so much prettier than Reed." She scrunched her nose.

"What was she like?" Jackson asked.

"Reed?" Izzie frowned. "You should know, you slept with her."

"Not her," Jackson replied tightly. "April...what was April like? We had barely gotten our intern year started when she transferred."

Izzie opened the bag of potato chips on her tray and pulled one out, chewing on it thoughtfully. "She was really quiet at first. She didn't say much for, like, the first month she was here. But one day we were in the ER together, and we had this patient that kept grabbing our asses, so we started venting about it, and...I guess we just started being friends." She shrugged, never realizing how easily she and April had formed a friendship. Izzie quirked her head at him. "She told me about the appendectomy."

Jackson looked down to the table. "She wasn't as bad as she made herself out to be, I'm sure."

"She didn't care about that part," Izzie informed him. "It meant more to her what _you_ did for her after." Izzie chewed another chip. "If you break her heart, I'm going to hurt you. Badly."

Jackson almost smirked at the 'threat' from the blonde, but he felt the care behind it. April had found good friends here. "You have my permission."

Izzie looked down to her pager as it beeped. "I gotta go. See you later." She pat his arm and scooped up her tray, dumping it and jogging from the cafeteria.

Jackson left the cafeteria as well, mentally preparing himself as he climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. He knew what he was going to find-April in Matthew's room, probably babying him over his wounds. Jackson hated that Matthew had kept in contact with April. Matthew seemed like a decent enough guy, but Jackson didn't like the thought of him making time with April while she was here at Seattle Grace. The one thing that kept his jealousy in check was knowing that they had obviously never dated. April had clearly friend-zoned Matthew. That thought alone put a pep in Jackson's step as he continued up the stairs.

* * *

"You shouldn't have run in there by yourself," April tisked as she looked down at Matthew's bandaged leg.

"I know," Matthew shrugged, "but I couldn't let them be that close and _not_ get out, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that," April replied, relaxing back in the chair. "Mmm, can I close my eyes for just a few minutes?"

"Of course," Matthew replied, smiling softly at her. April never realized how beautiful she was. She was that simple kind of beautiful too; she didn't have to cake on the make up or dress in the tight clothes. She was gorgeous in her simple scrubs and ponytale. Matthew watched her for a few moments before clearing his throat. "Jackson's part of the merger, huh?"

April's eyes flew open, and she looked to him. "Yeah," she spoke softly, biting her lip.

Matthew shifted uncomfortably, seeing that look cross her eyes. He wished she'd get that look in her eyes when she thought of _him_. "How's that going?" he asked quietly. "I mean, after what's happened and everything..." He let the sentence drop, waiting to see how she answered him.

April smiled, ducking her head and running her fingers over the bell of her stethoscope. "It started out a bit intense, but...things worked out." Her smile grew as she sighed happily.

Matthew studied her. Jackson's cockiness earlier was becoming more and more evident. "So...something happened between you, huh?" he asked, feigning the support of a friend.

April hummed a little, then nodded. "Yeah...it's...it's like we were never apart."

Matthew sighed, looking away for a moment. As much as it bothered him to see April giddy over someone else, especially Jackson, he had to just be happy for her. He wanted her happy, and Jackson obviously made her happy. "That's good," he encouraged, looking back to her. He'd bide his time, no matter how long it took. Jackson had already hurt her once, so it wouldn't be long before she did it again. And this time, Matthew was ready.

"He makes me happy," April confessed, smiling even wider.

"You deserve to be happy," Matthew replied.

April smiled and took his hand. "Thank you for listening to me...it's nice to have someone to talk to...I don't know how I would have made it these past two years without you." She squeezed his hand gently.

Matthew smiled, looking down to her hand and running his thumb over her knuckles. "What are friends for?" he asked quietly.

"Dr. Kepner," Jackson spoke as he moved to the doorway of room four ten. April had her back to him, so he'd had enough time to wipe the disgust from his face. "I need to speak with you about a patient." Matthew technically was a patient, so Jackson wasn't really lying in that respect.

"Okay," April replied after casting a glance over her shoulder. She looked back to Matthew and lay her hand on his shoulder. "I'll come check on you again before I leave."

"Thank you," Matthew replied, casting a quick glance to Jackson over her shoulder. "Hey," he said, catching her wrist as she turned to leave. "I know this is gonna sound all sexist, but my shoulder still hurts, and I can't really reach around, so...could you fluff my pillow?"

"Of course," April chirped, leaning over and behind him, grasping and releasing his pillow.

"Seriously," Jackson mumbled, scowling deeply. It was obvious the jackass was just trying to piss him off. He considered lowering himself to the paramedic's level, but he had some things to settle with April first. "We need to talk in private," Jackson informed her, taking her by the elbow and leading her to the on-call room.

"What's wrong?" April asked, eyebrows raised, as Jackson ushered her inside and shut the door, locking it.

Jackson looked at her for a moment and licked his lips. "Did you talk to Matthew about me?" he shot from the hip. No dancing around the issue; just get straight to the point.

A confused expression ran across April's features. "Well, yeah...Matthew is my friend..."

Jackson pursed his lips. "What happened with us was private, April. You shouldn't have talked to him..."

"I had no one else to talk to!" April exclaimed, looking to him with disbelief. Was Jackson mad at her? Seriously?

"You could have talked to me!" Jackson exclaimed.

"No, I couldn't!" April shot back. "Because all I was thinking about was you and Reed, okay?! All I was thinking about was you kissing her...holding her...touching her..." She bit her lip, the thought of him making love to Reed crossing her mind. "You were the last person I could talk to."

Jackson sighed heavily, taking her in his arms. She was tense at first, but then relaxed and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You shouldn't have blocked me out," he sighed, smoothing his hand up and down her back. "We've lost so much time because of it."

April tilted her chin up, looking at him. "But we're together now. That's all that matters." She leaned up and kissed his bottom lip softly, sucking gently before pulling away.

Jackson sighed heavily, claiming another kiss from her. Sometimes, he had a hard time believing April was really a virgin. She was entirely too sensual to have so little sexual experience. She seemed to know the right thing to do to drive him up the wall. He groaned when his pager went off. "I have to go," he moaned against her mouth.

"Okay," April giggled, making no move to let him go. Instead, her hands went under his scrub top, her fingers skimming up his back as she kissed him again.

Jackson cupped her face, returning her kiss hungrily, his hands going to her hips and pulling her closer to him. He loved the feel of her against him. "Mmmmmk, I really have to go," he murmured when his pager beeped again.

"Okay," April grinned, forcing herself away from him. She licked her lips, tasting where his mouth had just been.

Jackson watched her, then cupped her neck, kissing her again before pulling away when his pager beeped for the third time. "I'm going!" he exclaimed, forcing himself away from her. "If they fire me, I'm blaming you," he teased as he left the on-call room.

April smiled happily as she dropped onto the mattress and closed her eyes. Things were perfect...though part of her wondered what Jackson's fixation on Matthew was about. It wasn't like Jackson to be so ticked about one person. Maybe she'd need to keep her eye on Matthew. April yawned and put her pager by her head, then closed her eyes for a quick nap.

* * *

"Hey, are we still on for movie night?" Izzie asked April the next night as they gathered their bags from the locker room, finally leaving the hospital.

"You still want to do that?" April asked, looking to her friend.

"Uh, yeah," Izzie replied, eyebrows raised. "We always do movies on Thursday nights..."

"I just figured Alex wouldn't want me over," April ammended, seeing the hurt cross her friend's face. "He might want some alone time."

"I do," Alex spoke up, coming into the locker room, "but I have a better chance of getting laid if I don't ruin chick time."

"Alex!" Izzie exclaimed, elbowing him in the ribs.

April rolled her eyes as they cuddled. "What movie are we watching tonight? It's your pick, isn't it?"

"I let Alex pick," Izzie replied. "My only rule was nothing that involved strippers. Or lots of tits and ass."

"So that ruled out all the fast car, hot chick movies," April teased.

"Yeah," Alex replied glumly, "but, I picked the next best thing. _Halloween_!"

"Seriously?" Izzie asked.

"Nooooooo," April whined.

"What's your problem?" Alex asked, looking between the two.

"That movie is so ancient," Izzie remarked.

"I don't like scary movies," April confessed.

"It's not scary," Alex mocked.

"It _is_," April whined. "I tried to watch it before, but...the music...and the car...and he just...rides around!" She shivered.

Izzie giggled. "So invite Jackson."

April looked to her. "Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Sure," Izzie shrugged. "He's your guy, so why not." She looked over to Alex. "Is that okay, honey?"

"Jackson seems cool," Alex shrugged. "Plus it wouldn't hurt if I sucked up to an Avery."

"Ugh," April rolled her eyes, pulling out her cell. "We'll see you in a bit."

An hour later, April wriggled on the couch, then whimpered and put her face in Jackson's chest. "It's not even a scary part," Jackson spoke, looking down to her.

"It's the music!" April murmured. "You just know he's going to kill someone any minute!"

"No he's not," Alex frowned.

"It's not even halloween night yet," Jackson chuckled, knuckle bumping Alex behind Izzie's head. He rubbed April's shoulder, drawing her in closer to him. He made a mental note to thank Karev later for the movie choice.

April peeped out, settling her cheek on Jackson's chest, her hand drifting and smoothing across his stomach before she squealed and put her face in his chest again.

"What is it now, Kepner?" Alex frowned.

"He's just...staring at her!" April exclaimed.

"You're such a wuss," Jackson teased, leaning in and nipping her earlobe. "There's not even any gore in this movie. It's actually pretty lame."

April peeked up at him. "It's the intensity of it," she sighed. "I don't like the whole...music, and...you know he's there, but _when_ is he going to strike, you know?" She jumped as the white mask appeared. "See!"

Jackson smiled softly at her. He leaned in, kissing the corner of her mouth, then looking at her, seeing that familiar look move through her eyes. "Hey, guys," he spoke, looking over to Alex and Izzie. "Mind if we take a raincheck? I don't think she's going to be able to take it." He moved his finger over April's lips as she started to protest.

"Yeah, go ahead," Alex replied, pausing the movie.

"We won't do a scary movie next week," Izzie promised.

"Thanks," April murmured, standing and hugging her friend. "Sorry, Alex."

"No problem, see you later," Alex replied, unpausing the movie.

As soon as they closed the door to Alex and Izzie's apartment, Jackson wrapped his arms around April, their lips crashing together hungrily. He pressed her against the wall, kissing her mouth several times before moving his lips down her neck. "My-my place?" April offered, barely able to get the words out.

"No," Jackson murmured, pulling away from her and looking her in the eye. "My place?"

A small gasp caught in April's throat. Jackson was inviting her into his home. He had never invited her to his place before. A touch of anxiety mixed with excitement ran through her system. "Okay," she whispered before kissing him again.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N - Some of you may find this chapter a bit boring. It's not very action packed, but it's more focused on Jackson & April bonding as a couple. Don't worry-plenty of action coming up soon ;)**

Chapter Eighteen

April toyed with her hands during the silent ride towards Jackson's place. She was a bundle of nerves; this was a big step for them. When Jackson was coming to her place, things seemed more casual and just an extending of their friendship. But now that she was going to Jackson's place, which she'd _never_ seen before, things seemed serious. It was like they were really, truly dating now. They were no longer study buddies who teased each other while in the gallery. They were dating.

The thought excited April and made her nervous all at the same time. She liked the thought of dating Jackson, but it had been _years_ since she was in a serious relationship. What if she became annoying again?

"You're mighty quiet over there," Jackson spoke, glancing over to her as they slowed to a stop at a red light.

"Just thinking," April mused, looking over to him.

"Thinking about what?" Jackson pressed, reaching over and covering her hands.

April considered whether she should confess her thoughts, or make something up. She decided to make something up. "Hunt keeps pushing me on this trauma surgeon thing," she sighed heavily, twining her fingers with Jackson's. "I really don't think I'm cut out to be a trauma surgeon. You remember what happened with that appendectomy."

"It was also your first surgery," Jackson pointed out. "And we were all barely out of med school... You can't judge your ability to react based on that. You were a scared newbie."

April laughed softly. "Thanks, Jackson. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

Jackson studied her for a moment before continuing down the highway when the light changed to green. He wasn't sure, but his gut was telling him that something else was on April's mind. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," April replied after taking a deep breath.

Jackson glanced to her a few more times before focusing on the road ahead of him. He took a deep breath, trying to slow his pounding heart. He hadn't even planned to invite April to his home, but...something clicked in him when she was cuddled against him and hid from the movie. When he drew her closer, he had realized that he _wanted_ to bring her into his life. He didn't want April to just be someone he saw at the hospital, or someone he went to hang out with. He wanted to truly have a _real _relationship with her. He wanted her to be a part of his _entire_ life. Jackson cleared his throat, shaking the thoughts from his mind. It was almost disturbing; he'd never had these serious, long term thoughts before tonight. He'd never taken another woman to his home either. But then again, the other women he dated weren't April Kepner.

April kept her gaze focused on the traffic outside of Jackson's truck. If her mind roamed to what was happening, she forced it onto another subject. She didn't want to over-analyze this and mess things up. She had already almost ruined things by jumping ship and running to Seattle Grace. She vowed not to mess anything else up. At least not on purpose.

April shook her thoughts away as they turned into a quiet, gated community. A rich looking gated community. "There's apartments here?" she asked, looking to Jackson.

"No," Jackson shook his head, then cleared his throat. "I have a house."

April swallowed. Jackson had a house. "Oh..." She wanted to see if Jackson was renting or otherwise, but she couldn't bring herself to pry that deep.

"I paid it off last year," Jackson spoke proudly. Not many twenty-eight year olds could say the same. "And it didn't come from my family." He felt the need to clarify that so that April didn't assume his loaded family just handed him a house.

"Really?" April asked. "That's great, Jackson." She smiled, her curiosity getting the best of her. "How did you do it...this looks like a _nice_ place to live."

"I worked a lot when I was a teenager," Jackson explained. He mostly did it to get away from his mother, but he didn't feel the need to tell April that little detail. "I invested my money."

"Don't you have to be a certain age to invest your money?" April asked, watching as he pulled into the drive way of a two story grey house.

"My uncle invested for me," Jackson smirked. "I sold at the right time and was able to put a large down payment on this house."

"That's awesome," April mused as she slipped out of his truck, taking in the scenery. The house wasn't _too_ big, so that made her feel a little bit better. At least it wasn't this huge million dollar house or something. She noted the lawn was very well taken care of; her mind wandered to the thought of Jackson mowing his yard, shirtless of course.

Jackson fumbled with his keys as they approached the front door. He shifted the key towards the lock, taking a breath to control his shaking hand. He managed to get the door open, turning on the foyer light.

"Wow," April breathed, stepping inside and looking around. Jackson had a small table on the right wall where he deposited his keys into a small clay bowl. To the left was a coat rack. "I always wanted hardwood floors," she remarked.

"Much easier to clean," Jackson teased, taking her hand. "Would you like the grand tour?"

"Of course," April smiled, trying to keep calm. She was finally starting to feel inadequate. _What_ had she been thinking this whole time? Jackson was a freaking _Avery_. She'd never be good enough to date him. She should just turn around and run for the hills.

Jackson lead her to the right. "This is my living room," he told her, motioning into the room.

April's eyes scanned the basic couch, loveseat, coffee table, and entertainment center. "Is that a three-d tv?" she asked curiously.

"Yep," Jackson grinned. "I know it's insane, I mean, there's hardly any movies out yet, but..."

"I'm so jealous!" April exclaimed. "I _love_ three-d movies! Oh my gosh, did you see _The Lion King_?!"

Jackson released her hand, chuckling to himself as he walked over to the unit and opened one of the cabinets. "Got it," he grinned, holding up the disc.

"Now _that_ I'll watch!" April grinned.

"You're welcome over any time," Jackson smiled, returning to her and taking her hand again. He lead her from the living room, walking past a staircase. "I think this was the downstairs bedroom, but I turned it into an office," he told her as they stopped outside a room on the other side of the front door. "This is the laundry room," he continued, leading her through the house. "Bathroom," he pointed out as they passed a closed door, "and the kitchen."

"Wow, this is nice," April smiled, looking over the most up-to-date appliances. "Do you cook?" she asked, looking to him.

Jackson grinned and opened his refrigerator, displaying quite the collection of frozen pizzas. April giggled as he moved to a cabinet, opening it and pulling out a box of macaroni and cheese. "Are you hungry?" he offered.

April bit her lip, trying to remember when she had actually eaten last. She laughed when her stomach growled. "Yes, I guess so."

"Have a seat," Jackson said, motioning to a stool at the kitchen bar.

April hopped onto one of the stools, watching as Jackson whipped out a pot and filled it half way with water. "Do you cook anything besides macaroni and cheese?" she teased.

"Sometimes, but not a lot," Jackson shrugged. "I do a lot of take out...it's kinda pointless to cook for one person, you know?"

"I put my left overs in tupperware bowls and freeze them," April offered. "I usually spend one day cooking, and I can eat off of it for a month."

"You cook?" Jackson asked, shaking some salt into the water.

"Yeah," April nodded. "Maybe next time I'll send you a few bowls."

Jackson smiled gently at her. He liked how caring and thoughtful she was. "I'd like that." He put a lid on the pot and adjusted the fire. "Do you want a drink?"

"Sure, what do you have?" April asked, thankful for something to relax her bouncing nerves.

"Name it," Jackson grinned, walking over and opening three cabinets.

"That's the real reason you don't have food!" April laughed, taking in the array of liquor bottles. "White Russian?"

"You've got it," Jackson replied as he grabbed a bottle of vodka and a bottle of Kahlua. "Milk or cream?" he asked, setting down the bottles and retrieving two glasses.

"Milk if you've got it," April answered. "The cream is too heavy."

"I think so too," Jackson replied as he dropped some ice into each glass. He smirked, deciding to show April that surgery wasn't his only skill.

April's mouth dropped as she watched Jackson flip and toss the bottle of vodka around before twisting the cap off and holding his thumb over the opening, straining the vodka into the glasses evenly. She gasped as he spun the bottle onto the counter and picked up the bottle of Kahlua, giving it the same treatment. "You're awesome!" she exclaimed, clapping.

Jackson grinned before pouring a dab of milk into each glass and stirring the drink with a straw. "What do you think?" he asked, extending the glass to her.

April took the glass, taking a small sip. She sighed and closed her eyes. "Perfect," she informed him. "I think we should hang out here rather than Joe's."

Jackson grinned and returned the gallon of milk to the refrigerator then took a drink of his cocktail. "You wanna see the upstairs?"

"Sure, why not," April replied after taking another sip. She felt her muscles tingling already thanks to the rush of alcohol.

Jackson took his glass and in one hand and grasped her hand, leading her upstairs. "There's only three rooms up here," he informed her as they reached the top of the stairs. "One of them is a really important room."

"Okay..." April said unsurely. Was he harboring a body or something?

Jackson paused dramatically outside of a closed door. "If you're going to have a relationship with me, April, then you can not judge me for what's behind this door."

April bit her lip. "O-okay..."

Jackson gave her a devilish grin. "Are you ready to see my...playroom?"

April's eyes widened. "Pl-playroom?" she squeaked, gripping the glass tightly. Her mind ran over the many definitions of that word. She took a long drink of the cocktail, sucking down one-fourth of the drink in one gulp. "S-s-sure," she stuttered, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"No judgment, remember?" Jackson teased, opening the door slowly.

"You!" April laughed, swatting his arm.

The room was set up with three thirty-two inch flat screen televisions. Each television was attached to a game system-Wii on one, X-Box on another, and a PlayStation on the third. A dartboard was on the far wall, and a foosball table was tucked in the corner.

"What exactly were you thinking, Miss Kepner?" Jackson teased, a glint to his eye.

April felt the redness flowing up her face, and it wasn't from the alcohol. "I think I definitely want to play up here some time." She walked over to the televisions, noticing a small cardboard box sitting between them. "What's this?" she asked, kneeling.

Jackson smirked, squatting beside her. "It's the original nintendo, and the original super nintendo."

"Seriously?" April asked, opening the flap. "Oh my gosh, aren't these things extinct?"

"Pretty much," Jackson grinned. "Once I find some old school tv, I can hook them up."

"This is too awesome," April smiled, looking around. "You must release a lot of stress up here."

"You could say that," Jackson smirked, pushing himself up and holding his hand out to her.

"Thanks," April smiled, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. "What are the other two rooms?"

"The master bathroom..." Jackson took a gulp of his drink, "and the master bedroom."

"Oh," April said quietly, looking to the floor for a minute. "I'd like to see it...if that's okay?"

"It's okay," Jackson nodded, leading her out of the play room. "How bad did I freak you out with this?" he grinned, pulling the door closed.

April let out a puff of air. "I was thinking I was about to walk into a torture room or something."

Jackson laughed and lead her into the bathroom. "Can you tell it's the master?"

"Totally," April breathed, her eyes roaming the room. A claw-foot tub was against one wall with a glassed in shower opposite it. "I've always wanted one of these," she sighed, walking over to it.

"Here's the best part," Jackson said, turning on the water.

"Rain fall!" April exclaimed, tempted to step in. "Okay, I'm officially jealous." She reached her hand inside, sighing as the water tickled her palm. "I bet this is _so_ relaxing."

"It is," Jackson smiled, watching her. He cleared his throat. "You...can use it...when you spend the night..."

April looked to him and smiled softly. He said when...not _if_, but when. "I'd like that," she replied softly.

Jackson bit his lip, ducking his head to hide a smile. "Good."

A silence settled in as April turned the water off. "One more room, right?"

"Yeah, but it's boring," Jackson shrugged.

"I'd still like to see it," April replied. "The rest of your house is so gorgeous..."

Jackson smiled and motioned across the hall, opening the door. "Here it is...pretty boring, huh?"

April smiled, scanning over the simple brown decor. A rug was thrown on the floor at the foot of the bed. A dresser was tucked against the left wall, a closet in the back corner on the right, and a few pictures hung on the wall. A chair sat facing a big window with a small end table beside it. She could imagine Jackson sitting there in the morning sipping coffee as he woke up. Her eyes finally landed on the dark platform bed in the middle of the room. The whole room screamed sophisticated and chic. "It suits you," she mused, moving over to the end table and setting her cocktail on the glass top.

Jackson followed her, setting his glass down as well. "Thanks," he replied, licking his lips.

April's gaze went to his tongue, watching it smooth over his bottom lip. Seconds later she was pressed against him, kissing him over and over. She didn't think she'd ever get tired of kissing Jackson.

Jackson held her close, then lifted her up, carrying her over to his bed.

April gasped as she felt the soft mattress at her back and Jackson stretched out over her. It excited and titillated her to feel every part of Jackson pressed close to her. He felt _so_ good against her. April gasped when his lips moved down to her neck, causing a shiver to move through her whole body. Her hands slipped under his shirt, feeling his warm, toned skin.

Jackson kissed down to the first button of her blouse, waiting for her to tell him no. Just as he was about to unbutton her shirt, a shattering noise echoed in the house.

"What was that?" April groaned, feeling him still over her.

Jackson listened intently, then sniffed the air. Something...was...burning...

"The water!" they exclaimed together and scrambled off the bed, hurrying downstairs.

"Stand back," Jackson ordered as they skidded into the kitchen. "The lid broke," he informed her, holding his hand out for her to stop. He stepped around the shattered glass and turned off the stove. "Damn," he scowled, looking down at the floor. "Can you pass me the broom?" he asked, motioning to the corner.

"Be careful," April tisked as she handed him the broom and dust pan.

Jackson swept the floor three times, then dumped the glass into the garbage can under the sink. "We'll probably be picking up glass shards this time next year," he frowned.

"You know it," April teased.

"Should we try again for the mac and cheese?"

"Hmmmm," April mused, "maybe a pizza would be safer."

"Probably so," Jackson smirked, moving over to his refrigerator. "Hey, I've got some chicken in here..."

"Do you have a spice cabinet?" April asked.

"Mom put one in over there," Jackson motioned as he retrieved the package of chicken.

April moved to the cabinet, opening the door. "Jackpot!" she exclaimed, retrieving the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, and basil. "Do you have any green beans?"

"Frozen," Jackson called, reaching into the bottom of the freezer.

"Great, bring those over too," April called, finding a baking dish in a cabinet near the stove. "Put them in a pot with some water."

Jackson did as he was told and looked to her, watching her assemble the chicken like a pro. He liked April being in his home, being in his kitchen, cooking like it was the most natural, most comfortable thing ever. It hit him then like a ton of bricks-he wanted her in his home, in his life, for a long, long time. "April," he spoke quietly.

"Yes, Jackson?" April asked, looking over to him.

Jackson looked down, taking a breath. "I.. I-lo-"

April's eyebrows raised. "What is it, Jackson?"

"I love that seasoning blend," Jackson sighed, losing his nerve.

"Well, thanks," April laughed. "Just wait to see what I can do with a steak."

Jackson smiled and watched her. He was completely in love with this woman; one day soon he'd have the guts to tell her.


End file.
